Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
The Seth Parker
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1934
Dimensions:
46 × 52 1/4 in. (116.8 × 132.7 cm)
Doris Garbe, Hudson, WI
Accession number: SUPP2000.1173
Research Number: NCW: 1173
InscribedUpper left: N. C. WYETH
ProvenanceCharles Ward (President, Brown & Bigelow), St. Paul, MN
References
Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), C.94, p. 668
Curatorial RemarksAdvertising executives at Brown & Bigelow commissioned Wyeth in March 1934 to depict the schooner Seth Parker (subject of a popular radio program) for reproduction on a broadside hanger, calendars which could be customized for any business. Correspondence from Brown & Bigelow specifically instructed the artist to evoke the National Geographic maps of the two hemispheres, and to depict the ship in as much detail as possible; the artist was provided with photographs of the ship and a list of ports of call during its 1934/1935 world cruise. The Brandywine River Museum library collection includes letters from Brown & Bigelow to the artist regarding this commission, as well as the documentary material sent to him, photographs of the National Geographic maps with pounce marks, and several Seth Parker brochures. There is no indication that the picture was reproduced as a 1935 calendar image. A charcoal and watercolor composition drawing (NCW 1172) is held by the Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN. See NCWS.95.22, a booklet found in Wyeth's studio library on the Seth Parker.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Photography directly from painting
Photo Credit:Dan Dennehy, 11/2005