Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Sitter:
David Lawrence
The Crystal Gazer
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: ca. 1930
Dimensions:
40 1/4 × 36 1/8 in. (102.2 × 91.8 cm)
Brandywine River Museum of Art, Bequest of Carolyn Wyeth, 1996
Accession number: 96.1.32
Research Number: NCW: 407
InscribedUpper right: N. C. WYETH (underlined)
ProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. N. C. Wyeth; Carolyn Wyeth
Exhibition HistoryWilmington, DE, 1930(2), no. 44; Washington, DC, 1931, no. 41 (see page 13 for list of 1931 prize winners, including "The Crystal Gazer" in the Portrait and Figure Composition category); Wilmington, Delaware, O'Toole Art Galleries, Dec. 1934, no. 119; Philadelphia, PA, 1935(2); Wilmington, DE, 1946, no. 19; Washington, DC, 1946, no. 6; Chadds Ford, PA, 1982, no. 10, p. 42, illus. b/w p. 55
References
C. H. Bonte, "That Gifted Wyeth Family Exhibiting at the Alliance," Philadelphia Inquirer, March 31, 1935, p. SO 9; Richard Layton , "Inventory of Paintings in the Wyeth Studio, 1950," unpublished, Wyeth Family Archives, p. 83; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, Catalogue Raisonne of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), P.34, p. 815
Curatorial RemarksThe sitter is Andrew Wyeth's childhood friend David Lawrence. The painting retains its original frame (NCWS.95.2281), carved by Wilmington frame-maker Frank Coll.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:1. transparency directly from painting; 2. Archival photograph showing painting in its original frame carved by Frank Coll