Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Portrait of John Denys Zirngiebel
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: ca. 1905
Dimensions:
approximately 18 x 14 in. (45.7 x 35.56 cm)
Location unknown
Accession number: SUPP2000.1259
Research Number: NCW: 1259
InscribedLower right: NCW
Provenance(?); Private collection, Needham, MA; [possibly Howard Mott Rare Book Shop, Sheffield, MA, circa 1969 to at least 1975];
References
"Original Drawings and Prints," Howard S. Mott, Inc., Sheffield, MA, 1975 sale catalogue 193, no. 60, illustration in b/w p. 28; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, Catalogue Raisonne of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), P.2, p. 799
Curatorial RemarksThe artist's maternal grandfather, John Denys Zirngiebel, died Nov. 16, 1905. Correspondence between Wyeth and his mother in early December (Henriette Zirngiebel Wyeth to NCW, Dec. 2, 1905, Wyeth Family Archives) makes it clear that this black and white painting was done from a photograph reproduced in Horticulture Magazine (vol. II, no. 21 [Nov. 18, 1905], p. 542). "I got that paper containing gran'papa's photo and the obituary. I shall be very glad to make that painting and will do my best with it....I'll try to have it by Xmas" (NCW to HZW, "I received your letter Sunday" and dated in another hand Dec. 5, 1905, WFA). Mrs. Wyeth's letter indicates that the portrait was intended for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, but there is no record that the portrait was accessioned or displayed there (Rosalind Hunnewell, Library, Massachusetts Horticultural Society).
The same photograph of Zirngiebel was published in the spring of 1904 in an edition of The Suburban, a newspaper local to the Needham area. The Wyeth Family Archive includes an undated section of this edition with the article and photograph (NCW to HZW, dated in another hand June 10, 1904, "Have just finished.." which includes "Quite an account of Grandpapa...")
A letter to James H. Duff, Director of the Brandywine River Museum, from Ron Randall of John Howell Books, confirms that Randall knew of the painting and may have made an inquiry to the museum in 1974 on behalf of Howard S. Mott, a rare book dealer in Sheffield, Massachusetts. The painting is listed in Mott's sale of 1975, and may have been part of a group of 8-10 juvenile paintings and drawings that came from a house in Needham, possibly "the Wyeth Homestead," in the late 1960s. (See NCW 2106-2108, 308 and 2660.)
The same photograph of Zirngiebel was published in the spring of 1904 in an edition of The Suburban, a newspaper local to the Needham area. The Wyeth Family Archive includes an undated section of this edition with the article and photograph (NCW to HZW, dated in another hand June 10, 1904, "Have just finished.." which includes "Quite an account of Grandpapa...")
A letter to James H. Duff, Director of the Brandywine River Museum, from Ron Randall of John Howell Books, confirms that Randall knew of the painting and may have made an inquiry to the museum in 1974 on behalf of Howard S. Mott, a rare book dealer in Sheffield, Massachusetts. The painting is listed in Mott's sale of 1975, and may have been part of a group of 8-10 juvenile paintings and drawings that came from a house in Needham, possibly "the Wyeth Homestead," in the late 1960s. (See NCW 2106-2108, 308 and 2660.)
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Photography directly from painting
Photo Credit:hardcover: Rick Echelmeyer, digital photography from snapshot, 12/1/2006