Illustration is art

I know my posting isn't super timely, but better late than never. Andrew Wyeth died a little over a week ago. His death while not a huge news item brought up an argument that has plagued me my entire art career. 

Many artists claimed Andrew Wyeth was an Illustrator, NOT an Artist. Ok, I am just sick and tired of the blah blah blah of 'Artists' professing Illustration is NOT art. It is about creating vision, it IS personal, it IS inventive, it IS smart. Yes, it entails solving a visual problem - for someone other than yourself. Illustration is aesthetic, it is about creating something visually appealing, but it also is about telling a story or conveying a message. Whereas Art as is often defined is purely aesthetics. So by that reasoning, I feel Illustration is more cerebral, more evocative, more compelling. More importantly, what bothers me most is that being called an Illustrator is a put down. As though being an Artist is so much more prestigious. Illustration is an honorable path and I for one am proud to be an Illustrator.