Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Rose Salterne and the White Witch
Alternate Title(s):Rose and White Witch; Rose and the White Witch
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1920
Dimensions:
40 5/8 × 30 1/8 in. (103.2 × 76.5 cm)
Brandywine River Museum of Art, Bequest of Carolyn Wyeth, 1996
Accession number: 96.1.20
Label Copy:
In 1920, both N. C. Wyeth and Thornton Oakley, a fellow alumnus of the Howard Pyle School, were commissioned to illustrate editions of Westward Ho! In this incident, the story's heroine, Rose Salterne, prepares to follow the advice of the White Witch to undress, immerse herself three times in the sea, and then repeat an incantation. Wyeth concentrated on solid "flesh and bones" people, his Rose clearly experiencing doubts any young woman in her position would have. Oakley chose to depict Rose actually in the water and emphasized the element of magic by visual cues. Wyeth's realistic approach makes his image (and by extension the relevant passage) a timeless study in shared human experiences. The image appeared on the dust-jacket of a later (ca. 1924) Scribner's edition.
Wyeth was a great admirer of the work of Winslow Homer, and he would occasionally take inspiration from Homer’s work for both his commissioned and personal painting. Here the figures of the two women on a long beach dramatized by long shadows suggest similar scenes by Homer.
In preparation for this commission, the artist read and annotated a 1907 edition published in London by Thomas Nelson Sons (Brandywine River Museum library, #22481). According to Scribner's records, all paintings in the set were the property of the artist and returned to him on Aug. 19, 1921. Scribner's paid Wyeth $3,500 for the commission.
In 1920, both N. C. Wyeth and Thornton Oakley, a fellow alumnus of the Howard Pyle School, were commissioned to illustrate editions of Westward Ho! In this incident, the story's heroine, Rose Salterne, prepares to follow the advice of the White Witch to undress, immerse herself three times in the sea, and then repeat an incantation. Wyeth concentrated on solid "flesh and bones" people, his Rose clearly experiencing doubts any young woman in her position would have. Oakley chose to depict Rose actually in the water and emphasized the element of magic by visual cues. Wyeth's realistic approach makes his image (and by extension the relevant passage) a timeless study in shared human experiences. The image appeared on the dust-jacket of a later (ca. 1924) Scribner's edition.
Wyeth was a great admirer of the work of Winslow Homer, and he would occasionally take inspiration from Homer’s work for both his commissioned and personal painting. Here the figures of the two women on a long beach dramatized by long shadows suggest similar scenes by Homer.
In preparation for this commission, the artist read and annotated a 1907 edition published in London by Thomas Nelson Sons (Brandywine River Museum library, #22481). According to Scribner's records, all paintings in the set were the property of the artist and returned to him on Aug. 19, 1921. Scribner's paid Wyeth $3,500 for the commission.
Research Number: NCW: 195
InscribedLower right: N C WYETH (underlined)
ProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. N. C. Wyeth (with Knoedler Galleries, NY, 1956 - 1968, no. 54817); Carolyn Wyeth
Exhibition HistoryPhiladelphia, PA, 1921; Philadelphia, PA, 1925, as "Rose and White Witch"; Wilmington, DE, 1946, no. 53, as "Rose and the White Witch"; New York, NY, 1957, no. 107; Lubbock, TX, 1959, no. 35; Chadds Ford, PA, 1985; Japan (3 venues), American Illustrators Gallery (organizer), "The Great American Illustrators," 1993, illus. in color p. 35, no. 14, p. 125; Rockland, ME, 1998, no. 78 p. 165, illustrated in color p. 78; Easton, MD, Academy of the Arts, "America's Storytellers: N. C. Wyeth and Howard Pyle", Dec. 2, 1999 - Jan. 22, 2000; Harrisburg, PA, Governor's Residence, "The Wyeths in Pennsylvania: Three Generations," April 3 - July 31, 2000; Kalamazoo, MI, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, "The Wyeths, America's Artists," Jan. 15-April 17, 2011; Rockland, Maine, Farnsworth Art Museum, "Every Picture Tells a Story," April 27-Dec. 30, 2013;
References
Richard Layton, "Inventory of Paintings in the Wyeth Studio, 1950," unpublished, Wyeth Family Archives, p. 9; Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 209; David Michaelis, N. C. Wyeth, A Biography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998), p. 278; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.831, p. 410-411
Curatorial RemarksIn 1920, both N. C. Wyeth and Thornton Oakley, a fellow alumnus of the Howard Pyle School, were commissioned to illustrate editions of Westward Ho! In this incident, the story's heroine, Rose Salterne, prepares to follow the advice of the White Witch to undress, immerse herself three times in the sea, and then repeat an incantation. Wyeth concentrated on solid, "flesh and bones" people, his Rose clearly experiencing doubts any young woman in her position would have. Oakley chose to depict Rose actually in the water and emphasized the element of magic by visual cues. Wyeth's realistic approach makes his image (and by extension the relevant passage) a timeless study in shared human experiences. The image appeared on the dust-jacket of a later (ca. 1924) Scribner's edition.
In preparation for this commission, the artist read and annotated a 1907 edition published in London by Thomas Nelson Sons (Brandywine River Museum library, #22481). According to Scribner's records, all paintings in the set were the property of the artist and returned to him on Aug. 19, 1921. Scribner's paid Wyeth $3,500 for the commission.
In preparation for this commission, the artist read and annotated a 1907 edition published in London by Thomas Nelson Sons (Brandywine River Museum library, #22481). According to Scribner's records, all paintings in the set were the property of the artist and returned to him on Aug. 19, 1921. Scribner's paid Wyeth $3,500 for the commission.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:1. Transparency directly from painting; 2. illustration f.p. 125, by Thornton Oakley for Westward Ho!, published by Macrae Smith Publishers; 3. appearance on dust-jacket (Scribner's, ca. 1924)
Photo Credit:1. photographer unknown; 2; BRM staff; 3. BRM staff