Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Hiawatha's Fishing
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1907
Dimensions:
37 × 26 7/8 in. (94 × 68.3 cm)
Private American collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.1187
Research Number: NCW: 1187
InscribedUpper right: N. C. WYETH (underlined); stretcher keys marked: PAT.D / FEB 13 / 1883 / Jun 16 / 1886 / A. D. S.
ProvenanceThe artist; Houghton Mifflin Company, 1909; [?]; Edward C. Robinson, Boston, MA, ca. 1930; Gertrude True; Lucy Brown, Hamilton, MT; Private collection; (Christie's, New York, NY, May 18, 2004, lot no. 56)
References
Betsy James Wyeth, ed., The Wyeths, The Letters of N. C. Wyeth, 1901-1945 (Boston: Gambit, 1971), ps. 210-212; Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 211; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.167, p. 159; Alexander Nemerov, "The Gillter of Night Hauling, Andrew Wyeth in the 1940s," The Magazine Antiques (May/June 2012), ps. 150-151, illus. p. 151 (Nemerov's article also printed in "Wyeth Vertigo," Shelburne, VT: Shelburne Museum, 2013, p. 75); Alexander Nemerov, "The Glitter of Night Hauling: Andrew Wyeth in the 1940s," published in Rethinking Andrew Wyeth, edited by David Cateforis, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2014, illus. p. 106
Curatorial RemarksIn a letter of May, 1907, Wyeth wrote his mother, "I have lately accepted a commission from Houghton Mifflin to paint a picture of "Hiawatha's Fishing" (from Longfellow's Hiawatha). They wrote to H. P. and he referred them to me. I couldn't help accepting such an opportunity" (Betsy James Wyeth, ed., The Wyeths, p. 210). Pyle also included some of his other students in the project for the book contains additional illustrations by Stanley Arthurs, Clifford Ashley, Olive Rush, Frank Schoonover, and Howard Smith. Two years later, Wyeth regretted Pyle's involvement, writing to his mother, "(Houghton Mifflin) bought my Hiawatha. They reserved the right to buy the original if they wanted it for $50 above the reproduction rights. This was Mr. Pyle's doings so had to concede. I lost $200 on the deal as I've been offered 250 for it since." The reproductions in the 1908 and 1911 publications clearly show that the painting was originally dated '07 underneath the signature.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:photography directly from painting
Photo Credit:Rick Echelmeyer, 3/2004