The Brushwood Folk and the Castle of Villefranche High and strong the chateau, lowly and weak the brushwood hut, but God help the seigneur and his lady when the men of the brushwood set their hands to the work of revenge!

Artist:

N.C. Wyeth

(American, 1882 - 1945)

The Brushwood Folk and the Castle of Villefranche High and strong the chateau, lowly and weak the brushwood hut, but God help the seigneur and his lady when the men of the brushwood set their hands to the work of revenge!

Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1922
Dimensions:
40 1/2 × 30 in. (102.9 × 76.2 cm)
Private collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.492
Research Number: NCW: 492
InscribedLower left: N. C. WYETH (underlined) / TO KINSEY from / WYETH / -1925-; on reverse: Mr. H. C. Kinsey / 119 w 40th St. / NYC
ProvenanceThe artist to 1925; H. C. Kinsey, New York, NY; descended in family to 1954; (?); (Herbert W. Guest); Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Cauffiel, Chadds Ford, PA; Private collection and descended in family
Exhibition HistoryChadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum of Art, "Enchanted Castles and Noble Knights," Nov. 28, 2014-Jan. 4, 2015
References Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1972), p. 204
Curatorial RemarksSee letter NCW to Sidney M. Chase, Aug. 3, 1922, "The reading of the Chronicles of Froissart (all of them) was a very bright spot in the preparation of The White Company" (letter, Wyeth Family Archives, and see two copies of The Chronicles illustrated by Alfred Knapp, NCWS.95. 3424 and .4319, Brandywine River Museum).
H. C. Kinsey, the first owner of this painting, was an executive at Cosmopolitan Book Corporation. All images for The White Company were copyrighted by the Cosmopolitan Book Corporation.
"For years we had on our reading list Conan Doyle's White Company, but the only copy in the library was a small, drab-colored book with fine print and no pictures. This past year we have had a copy of the lovely new edition illustrated by N. C. Wyeth, a rather large book with good-sized print and beautiful pictures." From Ruth Teuscher, "Illustrated Books for Boys and Girls," The English Journal, vol. XVI, no. 8 (Oct. 1927), p. 606.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Jim Schneck, 6/2004