Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
It hung upon a thorn, and there he blew three deadly notes
Alternate Title(s):The Signal to the Castle
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1917
Dimensions:
40 1/4 × 32 in. (102.2 × 81.3 cm)
The Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.30
Research Number: NCW: 30
InscribedLower right: N. C. WYETH (underlined) / © C. S. S.; on reverse of canvas in lower left: Copyright by Charles Scribner's Sons
ProvenanceCharles Scribner's Sons, New York, NY; (?); possibly Jospeh and Harriet Hillman, Queens, NY; (Bernard Dannenburg Gallery, NY, 1969)
Exhibition HistoryBrooklyn, NY, 1920, no. 11, as "The Signal to the Castle"; Chadds Ford, PA, 1971, no. 75, illus. in color p. 61; Chadds Ford, PA, 1972, no. 99, color repro. in attached folder; Greenville, SC, 1974, no. 29; Chadds Ford, PA, 1976(1); Chadds Ford, PA, 1985; Chadds Ford, PA, 1987(2), no. 33, illus. in color p. 113; Cedar Rapids, IA, 1990; Chadds Ford, PA, 1997, no numbers; Harrisburg, PA, Governor's Residence, "The Wyeths in Pennsylvania: Three Generations," April 3 - July 31, 2000; Chadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum of Art, "Enchanted Castles and Noble Knights," Nov. 28, 2014-Jan. 4, 2015; 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. 150
References
Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1972), p. 209; ______, "Brandywine: A Triumph of Spirit and Strength," Saturday Evening Post, Fall, 1971, illus. p. 70; Susan E. Meyer, "N. C. Wyeth," American Artist Magazine, vol. 39, no. 391 (Feb. 1975), illus. in b/w p. 45; Carol Billman, "N. C. Wyeth," American History Illustrated, vol. XX, no. 10 (Feb. 1986), illus. p. 26; David Michaelis, N. C. Wyeth, A Biography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998), p. 240; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.665, p. 346-347
Curatorial RemarksAndrew Wyeth remembers that the tree depicted in the foreground stood at extreme eastern corner of the Wyeth property in Chadds Ford.
The Brandywine River Museum holds the copy of the Boy's King Arthur that Wyeth read in preparation for this commission (NCWS.95.171, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1908. Illustrations by Alfred Kappes) and marked with notes as he selected the incidents to picture.
The Brandywine River Museum holds the copy of the Boy's King Arthur that Wyeth read in preparation for this commission (NCWS.95.171, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1908. Illustrations by Alfred Kappes) and marked with notes as he selected the incidents to picture.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Peter Ralston, www.pralston.com
On view