Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
My Grandfather's House
Alternate Title(s):My Grandfather's House, New England
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: ca. 1929
Dimensions:
42 1/8 × 48 in. (107 × 121.9 cm)
The Phyllis and Jamie Wyeth Collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.953
Research Number: NCW: 953
InscribedLower left.: N.C. WYETH (underlined) / 9 (on small paper sticker)
ProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. N. C. Wyeth; Carolyn Wyeth; James B. Wyeth
Exhibition HistoryWilmington, DE, 1930(1), no. 32, as "My Grandfather's House, New England"; Chicago, IL, 1931, no. 216, as "My Grandfather's House"; Philadelphia, PA, 1935(2), as "My Grandfather's House"; West Chester, PA, 1935(2), no. 9, as "My Grandfather's House"; Chadds Ford, PA, 1995, no. 9, color illus. p. 27; Portland, ME, 2000, no numbers, p. 58; Chadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum of Art, June 22-Sept. 15, 2019 (and Portland, ME, Portland Museum of Art, Oct. 4, 2019-Jan. 12, 2020, and Cincinnati, OH, Taft Museum, Feb. 8-May 3, 2020), "N. C. Wyeth: New Perspectives," illus. p. 173
References
C. H. Bonte, "That Gifted Wyeth Family Exhibiting at the Alliance," Philadelphia Inquirer, March 31, 1935, p. SO 9; Richard Layton, "Inventory of Paintings in the Wyeth Studio, 1950, " unpublished, Wyeth Family Archives, p. 93; David Michaelis, N. C. Wyeth, A Biography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998), p. 301; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, Catalogue Raisonne of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), L.161, p. 752
Curatorial RemarksAn undated letter (Jan. 1929 by context) may refer to this painting: "The last "private" canvas of the old house (grandpapa's) after a heavy snow is considered by those of discrimination who have seen it my best....I certainly threw excitement and passion into it and feel quite certain that I have submerged paint and technic with a dominating emotional statement" (Boston Public Library/Rare Books Dept. Courtesy of the Trustees). The scene is drawn from memory and includes the greenhouses that belonged to Wyeth's maternal grandfather Jean Denys Zirngiebel.
The Brandywine River Museum holds two archival photographs of the painting (one stamped Sanborn Studio, one stamped Royal Studio); both are inscribed in N. C. Wyeth's hand: My Grandfather's House. The authority for the title and the exhibition record are based on those inscriptions. The catalogue for West Chester, PA, 1935(2) gives a date of 1931; perhaps the source for the same date given in the Richard Layton inventory of 1950 (Wyeth Family Archives). An inventory of frames (NCWS.95.6537, BRM) found in Wyeth's studio lists "Coll --silver gold (Grandfather's House) 42 x 48" indicating that the artist originally chose for the picture a silver gilt frame by the Wilmington carver Frank Coll.
The artist's grandfather lived in this house until his death in 1905 when it became the property of N. C. Wyeth's uncle Jean Denys Zirngiebel, Jr. Wyeth purchased the property, known as the Joshua Lewis House (built 1776), in 1921; he and his family lived there until 1923.
The Brandywine River Museum holds two archival photographs of the painting (one stamped Sanborn Studio, one stamped Royal Studio); both are inscribed in N. C. Wyeth's hand: My Grandfather's House. The authority for the title and the exhibition record are based on those inscriptions. The catalogue for West Chester, PA, 1935(2) gives a date of 1931; perhaps the source for the same date given in the Richard Layton inventory of 1950 (Wyeth Family Archives). An inventory of frames (NCWS.95.6537, BRM) found in Wyeth's studio lists "Coll --silver gold (Grandfather's House) 42 x 48" indicating that the artist originally chose for the picture a silver gilt frame by the Wilmington carver Frank Coll.
The artist's grandfather lived in this house until his death in 1905 when it became the property of N. C. Wyeth's uncle Jean Denys Zirngiebel, Jr. Wyeth purchased the property, known as the Joshua Lewis House (built 1776), in 1921; he and his family lived there until 1923.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Rick Echelmeyer, 11/2002