Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
The Minute Men at Concord, composition drawing
Medium: Charcoal on paper
Date: 1941
Dimensions:
18 1/4 x 24 in. (46.3 x 60.9 cm) approximate image area
The Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.1516
Research Number: NCW: 1516
Inscribedbelow image: "The Minute-Men of Concord Bridge"
References
N. C. Wyeth, Income Tax Notes for 1941 (unpublished, BRM library)
Curatorial RemarksThis drawing is most likely one of two itemized in an October, 1941, order Wyeth received from Forbes Lithograph Mfg. Company in Boston. The order (WFA) specified one painting, "Decatur and the Pirates of Tripoli" (NCW 1491), and two drawings, "Roger Williams" and "The Minute Men at Concord." All three designs (of a contemplated six) were to be offered to the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company as a series of calendar images, perhaps under a title similar to "Fight for Freedom." The painting was completed and photographed; the two drawings were discovered in Andrew Wyeth's Chadds Ford studio in July, 2009. A note in the artist's income tax material for 1941 verifies that he was paid for the completed work. The commission was probably terminated before calendars were printed; no archival material exists at Penn Mutual to suggest they were distributed.
One of the expenses Wyeth charged against the $100 he received for this drawing was a trip to the "Doylestown museum," perhaps to consult the collections of Henry Mercer. The subject was a favorite of his, one he had treated in 1904 (NCW843) and 1921 (NCW 278).
One of the expenses Wyeth charged against the $100 he received for this drawing was a trip to the "Doylestown museum," perhaps to consult the collections of Henry Mercer. The subject was a favorite of his, one he had treated in 1904 (NCW843) and 1921 (NCW 278).
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:digital photography directly from drawing
Photo Credit:Rick Echelmeyer