In His Eyes
In His Eyes
Notecards of this image can be ordered here.
All prints are handmade by Peter Ralston on archival rag paper with an archival ink set.
Small Matted Prints - This collection is printed on 8.5 x 11 inch sheets, matted, ready for you to frame.
Open Edition - The open edition of 17x22 inch prints is signed only by Peter Ralston and priced at $500.
Wyeth Signed, Limited Edition (LE) - Three portraits of Andrew Wyeth were signed by Mr. Wyeth and by Peter Ralston, and are available in a limited edition of ten prints of each image, priced at $6500. This collection is printed on 17 x 22 inch sheets.
The Master Prints - This limited edition (LE) print is limited to 50 prints of this image plus ten artist proofs (AP). They are printed on 24 x 36 inch sheets.
Custom sizes of this image are available by special request.
The story behind In His Eyes
I was asked to make a portrait of Andy Wyeth for the cover of his authorized biography, Secret Life. For this, I wanted to capture that fleeting moment of intense concentration I had witnessed many times over the years, the moment when Andy would spot something that fully caught his attention. When he had that squinting look, it had the intensity of a sniper about to fire, or of a surgeon about to make an especially important incision…absolute attention and focus.
Andy and I agreed to a sitting at their island home, a long-time familiar and comfortable setting for both of us. I asked him to sit in an old ladder-back chair in the doorway of the woodshed. I stood, he sat and I made a few exposures before noticing that a certain “colorful” fisherman was running his boat through the gut between the two islands there.
I pointed this out to Andy who was well aware of the man’s history and suddenly, just for a second, there was “The Look,” and I managed to record it. And that became the cover of the book.
After the boat passed we stayed outside for a little while, just talking as I kept shooting intermittently. We had slipped into an intimate place that afternoon and then, suddenly, Andy gave me the look you see here and it’s this "outtake" image that I love from that day. I knew we were done, and in we went for a drink before dinner.
If you look carefully, you can see me, standing there, in his eyes. The moment lingers. So does he.....