[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 45, Number 2 (Monday, January 19, 2009)]
[Pages 82-83]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Death of Andrew Wyeth

January 16, 2009

    Laura and I deeply mourn the death of American painter Andrew Wyeth.
    Mr. Wyeth captured America in his paintings of his native 
Pennsylvania and Maine.
    Mr. Wyeth was no stranger to White House recognitions. He received 
the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963. President Nixon sponsored an 
exhibition of Andrew Wyeth's paintings at the White House. In 1990, my 
father presented Mr. Wyeth the Congressional Gold Medal. And in 2007, I 
awarded Mr. Wyeth the National Medal of Arts in recognition of his 
lifetime achievement and contribution to American arts and culture.
    Laura and I are fortunate to have known Andrew Wyeth and to have had 
the pleasure of enjoying his work. In 2005, Andrew and his wife, Betsy, 
presented to the White

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House his painting, ``Jupiter,'' which is displayed in the Family 
Sitting Room in the Residence.
    On behalf of the American people, Laura and I offer our sincere 
condolences to Betsy and the Wyeth family. Our thoughts and prayers are 
with them.