Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
For all the world, I was led like a dancing bear
Alternate Title(s):The Hostage
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1911
Dimensions:
47 1/4 × 38 1/4 in. (120 × 97.2 cm)
Brandywine River Museum of Art, Bequest of Gertrude Haskell Britton, 1992
Accession number: 92.16.2
Research Number: NCW: 17
InscribedLower right: N. C. WYETH (underlined); inscribed lower left: © CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS; label adhered to back of top frame member: 26. THE HOSTAGE (Treasure Island) / Loaned by Mrs. Brigham Britton; label on backing paper: VIXSEBOXSE ART GALLERIES / Cleveland, Ohio; label on backing paper: Brandywine River Museum / Brandywine Heritage, 1971
ProvenanceCharles Scribner's Sons, New York, NY; Coburn Haskell, Cleveland, OH; Gertrude Haskell (Mrs. Brigham) Britton, Cleveland, OH, 1948-1992
Exhibition HistoryRockland, ME, 1966, no. 26, as "The Hostage"; Chadds Ford, PA, 1971, no. 62, as "The Hostage"; Chadds Ford, PA, 1972, no. 62, as "The Hostage"; Chadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum, "N. C. Wyeth and His Grandson: A Legacy," Jan. 24 - March 29, 1998 (Chadds Ford venue only of Chicago, IL, 1997 and not included in checklist); Chadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum, "N. C. Wyeth's Treasure Island: Classic Illustrations for a Classic Tale," Sept. 10- Nov. 20, 2011
References
George E. Freeland, et al., America's Building, The Makers of Our Flag (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1937), illus. b/w p. 181; Henry C. Pitz, "Millions of Pictures," American Artist Magazine, vol. 25, no. 10, (Dec. 1961), color illus. p. 53; John Lewis, The Twentieth Century Book, (New York: Reinhold Publishing Corp, 1967), illus. p. 213; Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 218, color illus. p. 83; David Michaelis, N. C. Wyeth A Biography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998), color illus. after p. 116; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.344, p. 229; Diego Cordoba, "N. C. Wyeth," in Illustrators Magazine (London: The Book Place), Autumn 2018, issue 23, illus. p. 13 and cover detail; David M. Lubin, "Hidden Cargo: Overlooked Dimensions of N. C. Wyeth's Treasure Island Illustrations" in Jessica May and Christine B. Podmaniczky, "N. C. Wyeth: New Perspectives" (Brandywine River Museum of Art and Portland Museum of Art, 2019), p. 32, fig. 10
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:transparency directly from painting