Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
The boy, Moses, clad in princely garments, witnessed the bitter suffering of his people at the hands of the Egyptian taskmasters. As he grew in years he became increasingly conscious of his kinship with the oppressed and exploited workers
Alternate Title(s):The Boy Moses; The Boy Who Established a Nation; Moses in Egypt
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1928
Dimensions:
approximately 43 x 32 in. (109.2 x 81.2)
Private collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.990
Research Number: NCW: 990
InscribedLower right: N. C. WYETH (underlined)
ProvenanceThe artist to 1945; awarded Jan. 13, 1946, to winner in high school essay contest
Exhibition HistoryWilmington, DE, 1930(1), no. 39, as "Moses in Egypt"
References
Delos O'Brian, "A Prize Worth Winning," (Wilmington, DE) Sunday Morning Star, July 29, 1945, p. 10; "Delaware Show Essay Contest," printed in brochure of Wilmington, DE, 1945, exhibition; illus. in b/w, "Prize for Essay Contest," unidentified Wilmington, DE newspaper clipping, about Nov. 10, 1945 (scrapbook E, N. C. Wyeth collection, Brandywine River Museum); Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations, and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 258; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.1074, p. 506
Curatorial RemarksIn 1942, the artist granted to the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention "second rights for unrestricted use" for this image, for which he was paid $50.00 (Herman F. Burns, Broadman Press of the Sunday School Board, to NCW Oct. 5, 1942, Wyeth Family Archives). In 1945, Wyeth, a member of the Committee for the 32nd Annual Delaware Show of the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, donated the painting as the prize in a high school essay contest, "The Picture I Like Best in the Exhibition, and Why I like It."
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Color print from painting