View of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. -- Photo courtesy Greater Philadelphia Marketing Corp.

Philadelphia means brotherly love in Greek. It certainly captured my heart with its colonial charm.

This fifth largest city in the U.S., founded by William Penn, still evokes the roots of American democracy. It's a history book come to life.

As well, thriving in this pulsating city is a lively, cosmopolitan art community.

Rolling out like a red carpet, Avenue of the Arts features a distinguished variety of museums and theatres. The centrepiece is the magnificent Kimmel Centre for the Performing Arts.

The Philadelphia Art Alliance, located on one of the city's colonial streets near Rittenhouse Square, is America's oldest arts centre for visual, literary and performing arts. Here Andrew Wyeth, a new star at 19, had his first solo exhibition in 1936.

Turning 89 this July, and still painting, this iconic local artist will be recognized in three timely retrospectives.

Besides the famous three generations of artistic Wyeths -- N.C., son Andrew, and grandson Jamie all from Chadds Fords, just outside Philadelphia -- there is another renowned artistic family of three generations. The Calders -- all named Alexander.

Calder sculpture spottings begin atop the City Hall, a wonderful birthday cake of a building. The William Penn statue looks to where he signed a treaty with the native Americans.

Until 1987, a 100-year-old agreement limited the height of Center City buildings to not surpass the Penn figure.

Calder's son designed the prominent Swann Fountain on Logan Circle, and the famous grandson's mobiles grace the city, one hanging in the foyer of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Other famous local artists are Thomas Eakins, Mary Cassatt and Howard Pyle.

Augmenting Philadelphia's artscape is the Rodin Museum, with the largest Rodin collection outside Paris. Just outside Philadelphia -- and also second in size to Paris --is The Barnes Impressionist collection, soon to move to the city.

With more than 2,000 outdoor wall murals, Philadelphia is the mural capital of America.

It's also an elegant walking city. Narrow streets lead to beautiful treed park squares, galleries and landmarks of grandeur.

Andrew Wyeth splits his time between Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and Maine. -- Illustrations, portrait and photos by Pam Davies

Meanwhile, within blocks, a lively downtown bustles with activity. Shoppers are no doubt enticed by no sales tax on clothing.

Philadelphia is a contemporary, cultural gem beautifully blending the current with its significant past.

THREE GALLERIES HOLD WYETH RETROSPECTIVES

The solitary and serene world of Andrew Wyeth will be shared this spring at three major galleries in Philadelphia and vicinity. All have collaborated to complement each other's exhibit of works by this 20th century master.

PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART
Andrew Wyeth: Memory and Magic,
March 29-July 16

Spring Fed (top), tempera, 1967, painted in Kuerner's barn. Photo (bottom) shows the same setting today, undisturbed, exactly as it was when Wyeth painted it.

This retrospective surveys seven decades of the artist's achievements, including 100 egg tempera paintings, watercolours and drawings from the 1930s to the present. Besides art, the museum features many displays -- even a buddhist temple. The building, a piece of art itself, was inspired by Greek temples. See philamuseum.org.

BRANDYWINE RIVER MUSEUM
Andrew Wyeth: Master Drawings from the Artist's Collection,
March through July.

Featured will be approximately 40 drawings from Wyeth's private collection.

It is a testament to the dedication of this local community group, the Brandywine Conservancy, which rescued this 19th-century grist mill at auction. It has become a treasury, a safety deposit box, for three generations of Wyeth family artworks.

Important paintings such as Jamie Wyeth's Portrait Of A Pig, Andrew Wyeth's Snow Hill, and N.C. Wyeth's Treasure Island are on permanent display. Also on exhibit is a large collection of American illustration.

Clockwise from top left: Elfreth's Alley, Inn at Whitewing Farm, Kuerner Farm and Brandywine River Museum. Elfreth's Alley is the oldest residential street in the U.S. in continuous use. It is a few blocks from Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence is on display. The idyllic Inn at Whitewing Farm -- whitewingfarm.com -- is the hub of Wyeth's Brandywine Valley community. Nearby you'll find stellar dining, wineries, the Brandywine River Museum, Longwood Gardens and a landmark countryside.

Victoria Wyeth, granddaughter of Andrew, is available for tours by appointment. Under the museum's protective wing as well are the N.C. Wyeth House and Studio, and the Kuerner Farm, made famous by Andrew.

The gallery is less than an hour's drive from Philadelphia. Tours and shuttles to N.C. Wyeth House and Studio: April 1-Nov. 20. Kuerner Farm Tours: April 1-Nov. 20. The Battle of Brandywine (1777) site is nearby. See brandywinemuseum.org.

DELAWARE ART MUSEUM
Something Waits Beneath It: Early Work by Andrew Wyeth, 1939-1969,
March 29-July 16

The exhibit comprises 32 early and seldom seen works by the young Wyeth.

N.C. WYETH STUDIO: On the palette of illustrator N.C. Wyeth, in his studio, is written DO NOT USE, inscribed by his daughter, Carolyn, sister of Andrew following their father's tragic death in 1945.

The gallery, roughly an hour's drive from Philadelphia in Wilmington, Del., offers distinguished collections of American painting, illustration and, until spring 2007, a renowned collection of English Pre-Raphaelite art. See delart.org.

IN THE ARTIST'S FOOTSTEPS

KUERNER FARM

It was so surreal to be walking in Andrew Wyeth's footsteps. I didn't want to leave any of my own, and I tread softly to show respect at this shrine-like painting place that has been preserved, as if frozen in time.

The Brandywine Conservancy acquired the farm, in 1999, recognizing the significance of this place, immortalized in many of Wyeth's works. It provided fodder for so many signature pieces spanning 70 years.

While exploring on day a young Andy, coming over the hill from his protected artist-family home, discovered a whole new world -- the Kuerner farm, run by German immigrants Karl and Anna. They developed a mutual respect, young Andy roaming the house and farm at free will. The family accepted his ubiquitousness as normal -- it was just Andy they'd say.

"He was likened to being an animal stalking nature."

The place became a living, visceral, untampered studio, complete with constant models. This is as pristine and raw as it gets for an artist -- untouched, with no outside interferences.

It was as if he was living inside his paintings, like an actor morphing into his character.

Karl became a surrogate for Wyeth's father, N.C., the well-known illustrator of adventure novels, such as Kidnapped and Treasure Island. He died in 1945 at a railway crossing close to the farm, leaving Andrew devastated. His father had been his mentor and his inspiration.

Because he'd been a sickly child, Andrew, the youngest, had been homeschooled by N.C., who'd been his sole teacher. The five Wyeth children had lived an idyllic life in the Chadds Ford countryside stirred by this vivacious father who used nature to inflame their imaginations.

DINNER WITH VICTORIA WYETH AT DILWORTHTOWN INN

It was one of those bizarre occasions. I was seated next to a profile that echoed Andrew Wyeth's. His delightfully unpretentious granddaughter, Victoria Wyeth, shared wonderful personal anecdotes over a candlelit dinner at the elegant and historic Dilworthtown Inn (610-399-1390).

She laughed when she told us how countless times she is asked: "Oh, isn't Andrew Wyeth dead? Are you sure?" they'd insist. Indeed, growing up Wyeth has its moments.

Victoria talked about how her grandfather is adamant about preserving the huge German pine at the Kuerner farm. "Don't dare touch that" he declares; how he helps out with local artists; how Wyeth told her that the shock over the famous Helga paintings, kept secret for years, was hugely overblown, hindering understanding the essence of his work. Helga, who'd pose tirelessly, had been hired to help a sick Karl Kuerner. Wyeth first saw her dragging a vacuum cleaner down the driveway. "Hey Vic, everything I was looking for in a model was in my own backyard."

They are very close. It's all about the art, he relates ... it's not just the technique, it's the emotions. "Who my grandfather was was never stressed to me." Victoria learned on her own. Not a painter herself, she conducts lectures and tours that were his idea.

SPRING FED

We saw this painting at the Brandywine Museum before and after visiting the Kuerner farm.

Seeing the painting for the second time, I had a completely different perspective.

It all came together, standing where he stood in the barn, appreciating how long he'd stood there painting, solitary, with only the sound of water dripping. This work exemplifies the sensory experience of sound, one could swear to hearing the drip, drip in the spring well.

This tempera reveals just how intensely personal Wyeth's works are. He told his biographer that Spring Fed symbolizes the death of Robin Hood, a childhood favourite. Young Andy, surrounded by props and costumes in his father's studio, would role play this character's death scene with his friends. As Anne Classen Knutson explains in Andrew Wyeth Memory & Magic, for him, the painting evoked "Robin Hood locked in the nunnery and laid out on a slab, bleeding to death. The water trickling from the trough is blood trickling down the stone; the hanging bucket is his helmet."

BOTTOM LINE

INFO
-- gophila.com
-- Benmania -- Benjamin Franklin: In search of a Better World. At the National Constitution Center until April 30. Philadelphia celebrates the 300th birthday of this eclectic figure key to the city's origins.

ACCOMMODATION
-- Radisson Plaza/Warwick Hotel centrally located in prestigious Rittenhouse Square district. radisson.com/philadelphia.

BRANDYWINE VALLEY
-- thebrandywine.com
-- The Gables at Chadds Ford: This 1800s dairy barn converted into an exquisite restaurant exemplifies Pennsylvania's preserved heritage.
-- Hank's Place: a favourite of Andrew Wyeth. Serves home style cooking; 610-388-7061.
-- Chaddsford Winery: Tour and taste at this charming, award-winning 200-year old colonial estate; chaddsford.com.