Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Johnny's Defeat at the Dock
He supported Johnny down the lane, the others followed, called out obscenities at Johnny in low malignant tones
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1928
Dimensions:
40 1/4 × 32 1/8 in. (102.2 × 81.6 cm)
Private collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.285
Research Number: NCW: 285
InscribedLower right: N. C. WYETH (underlined); on reverse, written on canvas: 9 (circled) Johnny Defeated / at THE / DOCK./ 49343 / -5 3/8- / 150 (illeg.) / 4 color
ProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. N. C. Wyeth to 1972; Private collection, Greenwich, CT, 1972-1995; (Somerville Manning Gallery, Greenville, DE, 1995-1997); (?); (with Schoonover Studios, Wilmington, DE, 6/2016);
Exhibition HistoryWilmington, DE, 1946, no. 36; Greenville, DE, 1995, exhibition brochure illustration in color, no numbers
References
"N. C. Wyeth," Life Magazine (June 17, 1946); Richard Layton, "Inventory of Paintings in the Wyeth Studio, 1950," unpublished, Wyeth Family Archives, p. 11; Betsy James Wyeth, ed., The Wyeths, The Letters of N. C. Wyeth, 1901-1945 (Boston: Gambit, 1971), ps. 739-741; Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 199; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.1066, p. 503
Curatorial RemarksThe Brandywine River Museum holds Scribner's unillustrated 1925 edition of Drums which the artist read in preparation for this commission and marked with notes throughout and on the endsheets (NCWS.95.239).
During a December 1927 trip to Edenton, Wyeth paid particular attention to the remains of the old colonial waterfront, as described in a letter he wrote from Edenton to James Boyd (reproduced in facsimile in limited edition of Drums). The Wyeth Family Archives include photographs of the dock area taken by the artist and presumably used as reference.
During a December 1927 trip to Edenton, Wyeth paid particular attention to the remains of the old colonial waterfront, as described in a letter he wrote from Edenton to James Boyd (reproduced in facsimile in limited edition of Drums). The Wyeth Family Archives include photographs of the dock area taken by the artist and presumably used as reference.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:photography directly from artwork
Photo Credit:Courtesy the Archive of the American Illustrators Gallery, NYC