Decatur and the Pirates of Tripoli, composition drawing

Artist:

N.C. Wyeth

(American, 1882 - 1945)

Decatur and the Pirates of Tripoli, composition drawing

Medium: Charcoal and graphite on paper
Date: 1941
Dimensions:
sight: 44 1/2 × 48 in. (113 × 121.9 cm)
Private collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.1146
Research Number: NCW: 1146
Inscribedupper left: N. C. Wyeth / Sketch
Curatorial RemarksThe Brandywine River Museum holds an oversized archival photograph of this drawing (14 3/8 x 16 inches, library, no number) and a smaller photograph with the following inscription in NCW's hand on the reverse: Charcoal composition sketch / for "Stephen Decatur in Tripoli" (Brandywine River Museum library # 3376). Wyeth's income tax notes for 1941 list the expenses involved with the commission (NCW 1491).
The Wyeth Family Archives includes the artist's original proposal, "The Building of Freedom in America, a plan for a series of 6 paintings for a calendar" dated August 5, 1941.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Archival photograph, Brandywine River Museum Library
Photo Credit:Unknown