Ann Wyeth McCoy

American composer, pianist and painter Ann Wyeth McCoy (March 15, 1915- November 10, 2005) was the youngest daughter of artist-illustrator N.C. Wyeth and the fourth of his five children. She was born in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Ann had a life-long interest in antique porcelain dolls, which began in 1923 when she received her first doll as a gift from her parents on her eighth birthday. Each subsequent birthday and Christmas during her childhood, she received another doll. From 1972 to 2004 her doll collection was exhibited at the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford during the Christmas holidays.[1]

Ann studied piano with William Hatton Greene, composition with Harl McDonald at the University of Pennsylvania,[2] and painting with her father.[3] In 1934 her composition Christmas Fantasy was performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, with Leopold Stokowski conducting. In 1935, Ann married John W. McCoy II, a young artist whom she had met when he studied with her father at the Chadds Ford studio. They had three children, John Denys, Anna Brelsford, and Maude Robin.[1]Ann did not begin painting seriously until her children grew up.The first formal exhibition of her work, mainly watercolors, was in the late 1960s.[1] The Brandywine River Museum has an Ann Wyeth McCoy collection, which contains correspondence, photographs, musical compositions, sound recordings, and her early drawings. The collection also details her interest in antique porcelain dolls.[4]

Ann composed many songs for special people or occasions, such as a tribute to a White House dinner honoring her brother Andrew Wyeth; lullabies for the children of friends and family; and songs about works of art such as her brother's paintings or a sculpture by Degas. She also set poetry to music for piano.[5]

Works

Her musical compositions include:[6]

Orchestra
  • Christmas Fantasy
  • In Memoriam (dedicated to her father N.C. Wyeth)
  • Maine Summer

Piano
  • Anna Kuerner
  • Black Angus
  • Brook in Winter
  • Cannibal Shore
  • Chambered Nautilus
  • Children's Pieces
  • Christmas
  • Christmas Tree
  • Embers
  • Fog
  • For Joel Wyeth Nields
  • For John McCoy
  • George VI: Death of a King
  • (The) German
  • Glen Mere Church, Maine
  • Grandfather's Sleigh
  • Helga Suite: Chorale[7]
  • In Memoriam: to NCW
  • In Memory of Robin's Dog "Charlie"
  • Irish Dance
  • Lament for Christina Olson and Her World
  • Maine Preludes
  • March of the Knights
  • Mort de Nureyev
  • Mushrooms by Jamie
  • Music Box for Betsy Wyeth
  • Music for Jamie
  • Newell
  • Patriot - March for Ralph Cline
  • Portrait of My Father N.C. Wyeth
  • Prelude: After the Swans
  • Reverie: In Memoriam Robert F. Kennedy
  • Sarabande[4]
  • Soliloquy
  • Song Sirens
  • To a Wax Ballerina by Degas
  • To John's Picture of Sandpipers
  • To Robin McCoy and Her Horse Kilo
  • Tone Poem on the Helga Paintings
  • Triumphant Entrance and Lullaby for John Wyeth McCoy

Vocal
  • Christmas Salutation from Chadd's Ford (text by N. C. Wyeth; music by Ann Wyeth McCoy)[4]
  • Songs

See also
  • Piano Music of Ann Wyeth McCoy by Dr. Donna Mulzet Beech, 2017[8]
  • Piano Music of Ann Wyeth McCoy, Book Two: Of Paintings and a Sculpture by Dr. Donna Mulzet Beech, 2020
  • The Natural Thing to Do: the Music of Ann Wyeth McCoy, a documentary by Denys McCoy narrated by Richard Chamberlain[9]

References
  1. "Chris Beetles Gallery". www.chrisbeetles.com. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  2. "Kile Smith • composer". Kile Smith • composer. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  3. McCoy, Ann. "obituaries". Legacy.com. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  4. "Ann Wyeth McCoy Collection – Bibliography – Collections". collections.brandywine.org. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  5. "Music of Ann Wyeth McCoy". Wyeth Walks. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  6. Cohen, Aaron I. International encyclopedia of women composers (Second edition, revised and enlarged ed.). New York. ISBN 0-9617485-2-4. OCLC 16714846.
  7. Garza, Tamanya; Marketing; Specialist, Social Media (2017-07-14). "I Dream of This World: Musician Catherine Marie Charlton on Her Wyeth-Inspired Album". Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  8. "The Music of Early 20th-Century Women Composers". Farnsworth Art Museum. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  9. "'Wyeth McCoy' film event at Strand - Knox VillageSoup". knox.villagesoup.com. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
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