Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Commodore Hornblower, dust-jacket illustration
Alternate Title(s):Hornblower
Medium: Oil on hardboard (Renaissance Panel)
Date: 1944
Dimensions:
20 1/2 × 26 1/16 in. (52.1 × 66.2 cm)
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Gift of the Du Pont Company, 1988
(Accn. # 66.1988)
Accession number: SUPP2000.374
Research Number: NCW: 374
InscribedLower right: W; adhered to reverse, partial label: 127-U8 (torn) Gallery / (torn) Fine Art; remnants of Renaissance Panel label adhered to center of panel (obscured by frame support)
ProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. N. C. Wyeth; Carolyn Wyeth to 1987; Du Pont Company, USA, to 1988
Exhibition HistoryNew York, NY, 1957, no. 53; Harrisburg, PA, 1965, no. 20; and see Greenville, SC, 1974, no. 47, erroneously as "Hornblower, from Captain Horatio Hornblower"
References
Henry C. Pitz, "N. C. Wyeth," American Heritage Magazine, vol. XVI, no. 6 (Oct. 1965), b/w illustration (probably of dust-jacket), p.42; Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 225; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.1312, p. 589-590
Curatorial RemarksStill unaware that the pen drawings for Captain Horatio Hornblower had been done by Andrew Wyeth (see NCW 1487), Little, Brown art director Arthur Williams commissioned NCW to do a dust-jacket illustration and as a frontispiece a "black and white line drawing" for Forester's new book, Commodore Hornblower. Little, Brown's intention was to duplicate the format of the previous book, despite a reduction in size due to "wartime restrictions." Correspondence between Williams and NCW (WFA) involves a settlement on payment for the commission ($500) and a discussion of Hornblower's age as a commodore.
The Andrew and Betsy Wyeth collection holds two drawings for this painting, a composition drawing (NCW 2188) and a study of hands holding a spy glass (NCW 2192). Ann Wyeth McCoy remembered that the painting hung at the top of the stairs from the dining room to second floor at the N. C. Wyeth house.
The Andrew and Betsy Wyeth collection holds two drawings for this painting, a composition drawing (NCW 2188) and a study of hands holding a spy glass (NCW 2192). Ann Wyeth McCoy remembered that the painting hung at the top of the stairs from the dining room to second floor at the N. C. Wyeth house.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Digital photography from painting
Photo Credit:Courtesy of Art Gallery of New South Wales