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. She worked mainly with watercolors. The first formal exhibition of her work 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]