Artists Andrew Wyeth and Karl Kuerner drew inspiration from Kuerner Hill in Chester County columnist Bill Rettew says

Although there are oh-so many hills in Chester County, one in particular captivates and excites me the most.

I’m a huge fan of Andrew Wyeth and he painted more than 1,000 paintings at the Kuerner Farm in Chadds Ford. He prepared many of those sketches, oils, water colors and tempuras at the iconic “Kuerner Hill.”

Several times, I’ve taken the seasonal bus tour from the Brandywine Museum of Art to visit the Kuerner Farm in Chadds Ford. You can walk where the Kuerner Family lived. You can also see where Andrew Wyeth stood, and see what he saw, as part of the tour. Kuerner Hill is privately owned by Karl J. Kuerner.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the acquisition of the Kuerner Farm by the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art, the Brandywine Museum is hosting an exhibit of acrylics and watercolors by Karl J. Kuerner. He is Karl Kuerner Sr.’s and wife Anna’s, grandson. The couple regularly modeled for Wyeth at the Kuerner Farm.

Kuerner, 67, invited myself and Brandywine Museum’s Senior Curator Amanda Burdan into his home for an interview. Then we hiked through snow to the top of Kuerner Hill.

The raw beauty unfolding below us from the hill was absolutely stunning. In the distance stood the Kuerner Farm. How many hours I’d stood mesmerized at the Brandywine Museum, captivated by paintings of what now sat before me.

In the distance, the Kuerner Farm, red barn and pond seemed larger than life. I couldn’t shoot enough photos. Depicted on canvas, I’d seen the topography I was looking at many times, though still, it seemed unreal. I thought of Wyeth joyfully painting up there on the hill on a similar snowy day, while Kuerner told me about sledding on the hill.

Kuerner grew up on the farm and still feeds the resident goats and cats on a daily basis. Part of the Kuerner exhibit that opened Jan. 27 and runs through  May 19 includes old photos of the Kuerner Family, including Karl J. as a four-year old sitting on a tractor. Kuerner still lives within view of the farm and near that magical hill.

“The hill is the hub—has seen everything,” Kuerner told me. Kuerner also said that it is an honor and celebration for many who preserved the property.

And he continues to paint.

“You are basically recording your own life,” he said. “It’s the most personal thing you can say.

“Every painting has a story behind it. You’re an artist 24-hours per day. The only great work you’ll ever do is your own life story.”

Kuerner realizes that he’s viewed in the public eye.

“You don’t realize you’re in the fishbowl,” he said. “It’s your own life and everyone else is looking in.”

Burdan said that the Kuerner exhibit, known as “The Continuity of Creativity,” is not a retrospective, but rather a slice of life on view. She said that she arranged the paintings according to what fits together and “what paintings talk to each other.”

Kuerner said that Burdan has known about his work for a while and she must “believe in what he’s doing” to hang his paintings.

Young Kuerner was lucky to have Wyeth working regularly in his backyard on the farm. Andrew Wyeth and his sister, Carolyn, never specifically taught Kuerner how to paint.

“They never showed me how to do anything,” Kuerner said. Instead his work was critiqued as an artist.

“They always told me what it took to be an artist,” he said.

Kuerner regularly hosts artists to plein art paint, outside, at the farm.

“Carolyn (Wyeth) taught me to teach,” he said. “It’s a chance to share the Kuerner Farm.”

Burdan elaborated.

“So many fans want to see and paint and stand where (Wyeth) stood—a pilgrimage,” Burdan said.

Kuerner enjoys living in Chadds Ford.

“There is still a lot of magic, despite development,” Kuerner said. “People come from all over the world.”

Burdan noted that the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art, which runs the Brandywine Museum, keeps development limited to some areas, while saving and preserving other places.

“You still feel like you’re living 200 years ago,” she said about Chadds Ford.

Kuerner talked about snowstorms such as the recent one that muffled traffic, this he said is like living in another dimension.

“It feels like I’m back in time,” Kuerner said.

The walls and living space at Kuerner’s home is crowded. A possum hangs from his tail from a rafter and a life-sized polar bear greets you at the door. The artist’s own works, and those of Anna B. McCoy, Philip Jamison and Shay Allen fight for space on the walls.

“You’re living in a world of creativity and whimsy,” the artist told me. “You have to have a sense of humor.”

Wyeth told Kuerner that a prophet is never recognized in his own town.

“It took me 60 years to get to Philadelphia,” Wyeth told Kuerner about the Philadelphia Museum of Art finally hosting an exhibit of his. And now Kuerner’s work is on show at the Brandywine Museum, just around the corner.

Kuerner is living fine, while creating and enjoying a wonderful view of his grandparent’s home and barn.

“If you enjoy what you do, you never work a day in your life,” he said.

Bill Rettew is a weekly columnist and Chester County native. His art is little more than smudges and blobs. The best way to contact him is at brettew@dailylocal.com