Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Gray Day, Cannibal Shore, Maine
Alternate Title(s):In Penobscot Bay; In Penobscot Bay (The Wave); Penobscot Bay
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1934
Dimensions:
46 1/2 × 50 1/2 in. (118.1 × 128.3 cm)
Brandywine River Museum of Art, Gift of Michael Hurd (artist's grandson), 1984
Accession number: 84.4
Label Copy:
Wyeth had always been a keen observer of nature, and his acquisition of summer property in Port Clyde, Maine, in 1920 gave him a different environment to study. He was also a long-time admirer of Winslow Homer. In all his seascapes, like this one, Wyeth tried to capture the distinctive light, atmosphere and reflections of the Maine coast.
Wyeth had always been a keen observer of nature, and his acquisition of summer property in Port Clyde, Maine, in 1920 gave him a different environment to study. He was also a long-time admirer of Winslow Homer. In all his seascapes, like this one, Wyeth tried to capture the distinctive light, atmosphere and reflections of the Maine coast.
Research Number: NCW: 459
InscribedLower left: N. C. WYETH (underlined; probably not by the artist); in black paint on reverse of canvas: "IN PENOBSCOT BAY" / N. C. WYETH / 1934
ProvenanceThe artist; Henriette Wyeth Hurd; Michael Hurd
Exhibition HistoryLubbock, TX, 1951, no. 18, as "Penobscot Bay"; Roswell, NM, 1981, (no number); Marietta, GA, 1998, no number
References
Illus. b/w, NCW-1, "Baker Collector Gallery," Lubbock, TX, 1964, as "In Penobscot Bay"; Brandywine River Museum, Catalogue of the Collection, 1969-1989 (Chadds Ford, PA: Brandywine Conservancy, 1991), p. 215, as "In Penobscot Bay (The Wave)" ; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, Catalogue Raisonne of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), L.183, p. 760
Curatorial RemarksThe following inscription in the artist's hand appears on the reverse of an archival photograph (stamped "SANBORN STUDIO / WIL., DEL.", number 3284b, Brandywine River Museum of Art, Annenberg Research Center) and provides the authority for the title: Gray Day / Cannibal Shore - Me. / N. C. W. / about 32" x 34". The title "The Wave" comes from a small label formerly adhered to the reverse (paper backing?): "The Wave" Oil / N. C. Wyeth / Hurd Ranch L-8H54-G"
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Photographer not credited