Artist Andrew Wyeth dead at 91

PHILADELPHIA , Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Pennsylvania painter Andrew Wyeth died Friday in his sleep, surrounded by family, at his Chadds Ford home, said KYW-AM, Philadelphia.

The cause of his death at the age of 91 was not immediately reported.

The Delaware Valley-based artist was known for his realistic renderings of rural America, particularly the people and scenery of Chadds Ford and near his summer home in Cushing, Maine, the radio station noted.

The son of the late illustrator and artist N.C. Wyeth, and the father of artist Jamie Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth worked mainly with watercolor and egg tempera paints.

His well-known 1948 piece "Christina's World" is part of the Museum of Modern Art's collection in New York, KYW said.

An extensive collection of the Wyeth family's work can be seen at the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford.

Andrew Wyeth was honored with the 2007 National Medal of Arts and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1988. In 1963, he became the first painter to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Wikipedia.org said.