Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
The Parables of Jesus, cover illustration
Alternate Title(s):The Sower
Medium: Oil on canvas on hardboard
Date: ca. 1926
Dimensions:
45 3/8 × 40 1/8 in. (115.3 × 101.9 cm)
Courtesy of the University Museums, University of Delaware
Accession number: SUPP2000.1372
Research Number: NCW: 1372
InscribedLower left: N. C. WYETH
ProvenanceThe artist; (?); Alice P. Smyth (to early 1930s)
Exhibition HistoryWilmington, DE, 1930(1), no. 11, as "The Sower"; possibly Scribner's, New York, NY, April, 1931 (see curatorial comment);
References
Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 200; "A Catalogue of the Permanent Collection of the University of Delaware," Newark, DE: University of Delaware, 1985, p. 96; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.1030, p. 490
Curatorial RemarksAn examination by Dr. Joyce Hill Stoner confirmed that this picture reflects the artist's original conception; it was photomechanically cropped in the reproduction process to fit the proportions of the Parables book cover.
The original intention for the Parable series was never realized. Wyeth wrote to Sidney M. Chase in Oct. 1922, "Have just signed a contract to do the Parables for Robert Winsor of Boston. It's a big chance and a big proposition. A mighty interesting scheme throughout. Taft (William Howard) is to write the forward and the imprint will be the University Press in Cambridge. 50,000 copies, first editions, etc." (Wyeth Family Archives, NCW to Sidney M. Chase, Oct. 16, 1922). Robert Winsor (1858-1930) was a Boston investment banker and supporter of the Unitarian Universalist Church.
No known archival material clearly explains the ownership of the 12 Parable paintings and Andrew Wyeth has confirmed the confusion. Each picture was jointly owned by Robert Winsor and N. C. Wyeth (NCW to Andrew Newell Wyeth, May 20, 1927, Wyeth Family Archives). Just before Winsor died in January 1930, Wyeth obtained all 12 in order to reproduce them in some way (NCW to Roger L. Scaife, Jan. 8, 1930, Houghton Mifflin Archives, Houghton Library, Harvard University). The painting was framed as an overmantle and hung in the Browsing Room of the Delaware Women's College, given in memory of Mary Askew Mather (d. 1925).
The BRM holds papers that list the biblical citations that inspired Wyeth and a rough copy of his text for the catalogue of the Wilmington, DE, 1930 exhibition which included the artist's remarks about each Parable painting. The University of Delaware holds a letter from Alice Smyth to students of Delaware Women's College mentioning her gift of Wyeth's painting.
;A selection of paintings from The Parables must have been shown in New York in the spring of 1931, for in "Art that is now being shown in various New York galleries," Times writer Ruth Green Harris noted "N. C. Wyeth, at Scribner's, shows paintings, many of which illustrate Old Testament scenes." (NYT, April 12, 1931; ProQuest Historical Newspapers, pg. X10).
The original intention for the Parable series was never realized. Wyeth wrote to Sidney M. Chase in Oct. 1922, "Have just signed a contract to do the Parables for Robert Winsor of Boston. It's a big chance and a big proposition. A mighty interesting scheme throughout. Taft (William Howard) is to write the forward and the imprint will be the University Press in Cambridge. 50,000 copies, first editions, etc." (Wyeth Family Archives, NCW to Sidney M. Chase, Oct. 16, 1922). Robert Winsor (1858-1930) was a Boston investment banker and supporter of the Unitarian Universalist Church.
No known archival material clearly explains the ownership of the 12 Parable paintings and Andrew Wyeth has confirmed the confusion. Each picture was jointly owned by Robert Winsor and N. C. Wyeth (NCW to Andrew Newell Wyeth, May 20, 1927, Wyeth Family Archives). Just before Winsor died in January 1930, Wyeth obtained all 12 in order to reproduce them in some way (NCW to Roger L. Scaife, Jan. 8, 1930, Houghton Mifflin Archives, Houghton Library, Harvard University). The painting was framed as an overmantle and hung in the Browsing Room of the Delaware Women's College, given in memory of Mary Askew Mather (d. 1925).
The BRM holds papers that list the biblical citations that inspired Wyeth and a rough copy of his text for the catalogue of the Wilmington, DE, 1930 exhibition which included the artist's remarks about each Parable painting. The University of Delaware holds a letter from Alice Smyth to students of Delaware Women's College mentioning her gift of Wyeth's painting.
;A selection of paintings from The Parables must have been shown in New York in the spring of 1931, for in "Art that is now being shown in various New York galleries," Times writer Ruth Green Harris noted "N. C. Wyeth, at Scribner's, shows paintings, many of which illustrate Old Testament scenes." (NYT, April 12, 1931; ProQuest Historical Newspapers, pg. X10).
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Digital photography directly from painting
Photo Credit:Courtesy of University of Delaware