Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
My confusion, I think, derived from my complete unfamiliarity with this sort of thing. I sat breathless, watching the strange exotic creature before me
Alternate Title(s):Mandarin
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1923
Dimensions:
34 × 36 in. (86.4 × 91.4 cm)
From the collection of Houghton Mifflin Company
Accession number: SUPP2000.1304
Research Number: NCW: 1304
Exhibition HistoryNeedham, MA, 1968, no. 16, as "Mandarin"; Needham, MA, 1982, no numbers
References
Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1972), p. 264; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.957, p. 454
Curatorial RemarksThe artist didn't sign this picture, knowing it would be reproduced as a double page spread; the other half (NCW 1305) is signed in the lower right.
Houghton Mifflin originally intended to publish all the illustrations for Silk in their hardbound edition (1923), but the author didn't want to risk his reputation on an expensive book (the illustrations would have added an additional .50 to the $2.00 price of the book) and the publisher feared attracting readers searching for sensation (see Roger L. Scaife to NCW, July 19, 1923, Houghton Mifflin Archives, Houghton Library, Harvard University).
Houghton Mifflin originally intended to publish all the illustrations for Silk in their hardbound edition (1923), but the author didn't want to risk his reputation on an expensive book (the illustrations would have added an additional .50 to the $2.00 price of the book) and the publisher feared attracting readers searching for sensation (see Roger L. Scaife to NCW, July 19, 1923, Houghton Mifflin Archives, Houghton Library, Harvard University).
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Michael Gould