Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
"I laid me down flat on my belly on the ground, and began to look for the place"
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1920
Dimensions:
40 3/4 × 30 1/4 in. (103.5 × 76.8 cm)
Collection of Joseph and Louise Huber
Accession number: SUPP2000.1234
Research Number: NCW: 1234
ProvenanceThe artist to 1923; The Wilmington Institute Library, Wilmington, Delaware, 1923-2009; (Christie's, New York, NY, Dec. 2, 2009, lot no. 134; did not sell at auction); long-term loan to Brandywine River Museum of Art; (Freeman's, Philadelphia, PA, 2015 private sale)
Exhibition Historyposs. Boston, MA, Boston Public Library, April 1923; Wilmington, DE, 1981; Chadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum, N. C. Wyeth gallery, Feb. 5 - Mar. 14, 2010;
References
"Greatest Painter of 'Costumed Romance' Once Cowboy, . . ." (Boston, MA) Sunday Herald, Nov. 12, 1922, illustration in b/w p. 8, section E; 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.820, p. 407
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 (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:Photography directly from painting
Photo Credit:Rick Echelmeyer, 12/1/1999