Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Dan'l Nason, Sailing Master, 1814
Alternate Title(s):Captain of the Brig
Medium: Oil on hardboard (Renaissance Panel)
Date: 1937
Dimensions:
29 3/4 × 22 3/4 in. (75.6 × 57.8 cm)
The Phyllis and Jamie Wyeth Collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.618
Research Number: NCW: 618
InscribedUpper left: N. C. WYETH; adhered to reverse of panel, Renaissance Panel label, no. 587, dated 9/24/(19)37; on reverse of panel, in white paint in the artist's hand, with parts abrated: ITLE -- DAN'L NASON -- SAILING MASTER (with (1814) written above Sailing Master) / (abrasion) VARNISH OR / (abrasion) PANEL / N C W
ProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. N. C. Wyeth; descended in family
Exhibition HistoryPortland, ME, 1938; Wilmington, DE, 1946, no. 46; Washington, DC, 1946, no. 23; Rockland, ME, 1966, no. 68; Rockland, ME, 1982, ps. 6 and 9
References
"The Romance That Is Maine's," The Boston Herald, June 19, 1938, Rotogravure Section, unpaginated; N. C. Wyeth, Income tax notes for 1939 (unpublished, Brandywine River Museum library); Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 216; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.1223, p. 555, 556
Curatorial RemarksOn October, 23, 1937, Wyeth wrote to Roberts, "Can you tell me if oilskin sou'westers were used in 1812? Want much to do Dan'l Nason on board in dirty weather. Or what would he wear?" Later he told Roberts (undated letter but after Oct. 26, 1937) he found a source of reference for the captain's clothes in "Rowlandson's prints and others in the McPherson collection, all of 1808-1811" (letters, Kenneth Roberts Papers, Courtesy of Dartmouth College Library).
Wyeth's 1939 income tax notes for the expenses involved in the Macbeth Gallery exhibition (December, 1939) list "Capt. of the Brig" as one of the paintings that was framed and shipped to New York for possible exhibition. Andrew Wyeth confirmed that this painting by that title was considered, but finally not included. Originally the panel was most likely four to six inches larger in both dimensions; the truncated inscription on the reverse and ragged edges indicate that the support was cut down (white borders were probably cut off), perhaps in preparation for exhibition.
The Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection includes the composition drawing for the image (NCW 1352), and the Brandywine River Museum holds a lantern slide (NCWS.95.1825.131) made from the drawing that was used in the transfer of the design from paper to panel.
Wyeth's 1939 income tax notes for the expenses involved in the Macbeth Gallery exhibition (December, 1939) list "Capt. of the Brig" as one of the paintings that was framed and shipped to New York for possible exhibition. Andrew Wyeth confirmed that this painting by that title was considered, but finally not included. Originally the panel was most likely four to six inches larger in both dimensions; the truncated inscription on the reverse and ragged edges indicate that the support was cut down (white borders were probably cut off), perhaps in preparation for exhibition.
The Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection includes the composition drawing for the image (NCW 1352), and the Brandywine River Museum holds a lantern slide (NCWS.95.1825.131) made from the drawing that was used in the transfer of the design from paper to panel.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:1. Photography directly from art work 2. inscription on reverse of panel; 3. detail of Renaissance panel label on the reverse.
Photo Credit:1. Rick Echelmeyer; 2. Lauren Lewis, 8/2006; 3. Lauren Lewis, 8/2006