Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
"However, after six days o' restin' up, with salubrious fruits an' wines an' the most melojus concerts, my capt'n broaches the cause of why we're callin' on the Don Hidalgo Rodreego Cazamma."
Alternate Title(s):A Sailor's Fantasy
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1915
Dimensions:
39 1/2 × 31 3/8 in. (100.3 × 79.7 cm)
Delaware Art Museum, Special Purchase Fund, 1920
Accession number: SUPP2000.984
Research Number: NCW: 984
InscribedLower right: CONVERS / WYETH (underlined)
ProvenanceThe artist to 1920 (returned by Scribner's Jan. 1916, #32981); purchased by Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, 1920
Exhibition HistoryPhiladelphia, PA, 1916(1), no. 103; Wilmington, DE, 1916, no. 23; Wilmington, DE, 1966, no. 39; Wilmington, DE, 1969, (no numbers); Wilmington, DE, 1971, illustration in b/w, plate XXV p. 24; Wilmington, DE, Delaware Art Museum, "The Golden Age of American Illustration: 1880-1914," Sept.14 - Oct. 15, 1972, illustration; Greenville, SC, 1974, no. 70; Memphis, TN, 1983, p. 68, catalogue no. 26 p. 94, illustration in b/w, p. 68; Washington, DC, The Trust for Museum Exhibitions, "The Best of American Illustration. Selections from the Delaware Art Museum," various venues 10/85-2/89, no. 72; Fort Lauderdale, FL, Museum of Art, "Masterpieces of American Illustration from the Delaware Art Museum," Jan. 26 - March 25, 1990
References
"Catalogue of the Permanent Collection of the the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts" (Wilmington, DE: Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, Oct. 1, 1923), #247; "Catalogue of Pictures by Howard Pyle in the Permanent Collection of the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts," (Wilmington, DE: Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, 1926); "Preserving a Priceless Heritage / Achieving a Community Art Center, " (Wilmington, DE: Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, 1935, illustration in b/w (unpaginated); "Catalogue of Pictures by Howard Pyle," (Wilmington, DE: Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, 1935), p. 31, no. 4001; Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 276; Roland Elzea and Iris Snyder, American Illustration The Collection of the Delaware Art Museum (Wilmington, DE: Delaware Art Museum, 1991), p. 157; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.597, p. 317
Curatorial RemarksAbout the first exhibition of this painting Wyeth wrote, "My canvas was admittedly well painted and attracted considerable interest (I got this from a juryman) but it brought up the mighty question as to whether is was legitimately a painting or just a common illustration. There was quite a lengthy discussion...but I was fortunate to have Edward Redfield a supporter--and I imagine it was through his influence that the picture was finally honored by a majority vote" (NCW to HZW, dated in another hand March 17, 1916). Wyeth's letter includes a sketch of the gallery showing the position (above an entrance door) in which his canvas was hung.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Digital photography directly from painting