Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
"I reaped it my way, for I cut nothing off but the ears, and carried it away in a great basket which I had made"
Alternate Title(s):Robinson Crusoe in his grainfield; The Reaper
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1920
Dimensions:
40 3/8 × 30 in. (102.6 × 76.2 cm)
From the collection of The Wilmington Institute Library, Wilmington, Delware
Accession number: SUPP2000.270
Research Number: NCW: 270
InscribedLower right: N. C. WYETH (underlined)
ProvenanceThe artist to 1923; The Wilmington Institute Library, Wilmington, Delaware, 1923-2009; (Christie's, New York, NY, Dec. 2, 2009, lot no. 131; did not sell at auction); long-term loan to Brandywine River Museum of Art, Chadds Ford, PA; (Freeman's, Philadelphia, PA, June 7, 2015, lot no. 52);
Exhibition HistoryWilmington, DE, 1921, no. 85, as "Robinson Crusoe in his grainfield"; Philadelphia, PA, 1921; poss. Boston, MA, Boston Public Library, April 1923; Harrisburg, PA, 1965, no. 94, as "The Reaper"; Chadds Ford, PA, 1976(1); Wilmington, DE, 1981; Chadds Ford, PA, 1985; Chadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum, N. C. Wyeth gallery, Feb. 5 - Mar. 14, 2010;
References
Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 203; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.817, p. 405; Vicky Lowry, "Raising the Barn," Elle Decor, July/August 2017, p. 14
Curatorial RemarksThe Wilmington Institute Library holds letters to and from the artist regarding the purchase of the Robinson Crusoe paintings. In October, 1921, the Library trustees offered the artist $2,000 for 12 paintings, which were paid for when the paintings were installed in the Children's Room of the new building at 10th and Market Streets in early May 1923 (see letters between NCW and Arthur L. Bailey, Oct. 26, 1921 through May 9, 1923, collection of Wilmington Institute Library).
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Rick Echelmeyer, Dec. 1999