Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Robinson Crusoe, endpaper illustration
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1920
Dimensions:
30 1/4 × 45 1/2 in. (76.8 × 115.6 cm)
Private collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.1238
Research Number: NCW: 1238
InscribedLower right: W (circled)
ProvenanceThe artist to 1923; The Wilmington Institute Library, Wilmington, Delaware, 1923-2009; (Christie's, New York, NY, Dec. 2, 2009, lot no. 127);
Exhibition HistoryPhiladelphia, PA, 1921; poss. Boston, MA, Boston Public Library, April 1923; Wilmington, DE, 1981
References
Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1972), p. 203; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.810, p. 403
Curatorial RemarksIn addition to the commission for Robinson Crusoe in 1920, Wyeth also undertook Westward Ho! for Scribner's, a situation that caused some consternation at Scribner's. In justifying the time spent on each commission, Wyeth wrote to the Scribner's art editor, "Your book lining, full of details that had (underlined) to be prepared for, took a week; the single figure of Crusoe took a day and a half at the most" (NCW to Joseph H. Chapin, undated but noted "Friday morning / 5.30 o'clock" in NCW's hand, Archives of Charles Scribner's Sons, Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.)
A private collector holds a mock-up of the book, designed for salesmen to show prospective buyers prior to publication. Only the endsheets, cover page illustration, title page picture and frontispiece were included in the mock-up, along with a page of text and advertising material.
The 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 (see letters between NCW and Arthur L. Bailey, Oct. 26, 1921 through May 9, 1923, collection of Wilmington Institute Library).
A private collector holds a mock-up of the book, designed for salesmen to show prospective buyers prior to publication. Only the endsheets, cover page illustration, title page picture and frontispiece were included in the mock-up, along with a page of text and advertising material.
The 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 (see 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:Transparency directy from painting
Photo Credit:Rick Echelmeyer, 12/1/1999