Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
N. C. Wyeth's Studio, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: ca. 1912
Dimensions:
16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
Brandywine River Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Wyeth, 1976
Accession number: 76.7
Label Copy:
In 1911, with the proceeds from the Treasure Island commission, N. C. Wyeth purchased eighteen acres of land in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. That same year, he had a house and studio constructed on the hilly site that overlooked the Brandywine River valley. In this early view of the studio, one sees how the siting of the building, with its huge Palladian-style north light, sat at the top of the property. In a letter to his brother Edwin, dated Jan. 22, 1912, the artist wrote, "The one step I have taken is the placing and laying of a flag stone flight of stairs....the carpenters during their long summer's passing up and down the embankment between the house and the studio...determined the line of least resistance which has proven a most joyous and practical little flight of stairs...." This was N. C. Wyeth’s "commute" to work.
In 1911, with the proceeds from the Treasure Island commission, N. C. Wyeth purchased eighteen acres of land in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. That same year, he had a house and studio constructed on the hilly site that overlooked the Brandywine River valley. In this early view of the studio, one sees how the siting of the building, with its huge Palladian-style north light, sat at the top of the property. In a letter to his brother Edwin, dated Jan. 22, 1912, the artist wrote, "The one step I have taken is the placing and laying of a flag stone flight of stairs....the carpenters during their long summer's passing up and down the embankment between the house and the studio...determined the line of least resistance which has proven a most joyous and practical little flight of stairs...." This was N. C. Wyeth’s "commute" to work.
Research Number: NCW: 287
InscribedNone; label presently attached to backing board: NO. 3491 / FRAME; label presently attached to backing board: NO. 3491 / PICTURE
ProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. N. C. Wyeth; Nicholas Wyeth
Exhibition HistoryHarrisburg, PA, William Penn Memorial Museum, "Landscape in Pennsylvania," July 1, 1978 - Jan. 2, 1979; Chadds Ford, PA, 1997, no numbers
References
Brandywine River Museum, Catalogue of the Collection, 1969-1989 (Chadds Ford, PA: Brandywine Conservancy, 1991), p. 214, b/w illustration p. 211; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, Catalogue Raisonne of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), L.69, p. 720
Curatorial RemarksThe date of this painting is based on a similar view in a circa 1911 / 1912 photograph (Wyeth Family Archives and reproduced in "The Wyeths in Chadds Ford: The Early Years," p. 6). In a letter to his brother Edwin, dated Jan. 22, 1912, the artist wrote, "The one step I have taken is the placing and laying of a flag stone flight of stairs....the carpenters during their long summer's passing up and down the embankment between the house and the studio...determined the line of least resistance which has proven a most joyous and practical little flight of stairs...."
This painting was photographed in 1969, one of approximately 3 dozen paintings from the artist's studio that had been stored unstretched (Brandywine River Museum of Art, catalogue raisonne files).
This painting was photographed in 1969, one of approximately 3 dozen paintings from the artist's studio that had been stored unstretched (Brandywine River Museum of Art, catalogue raisonne files).
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Brandywine River Museum photography files
On view