The Plowman

Artist:

N.C. Wyeth

(American, 1882 - 1945)

The Plowman

Medium: Charcoal and pastel on paper adhered to hardboard
Date: 1940 / 1944
Dimensions:
sight: 41 1/2 × 31 1/2 in. (105.4 × 80 cm)
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Frank E. Fowler
Accession number: SUPP2000.1156
Research Number: NCW: 1156
InscribedLower left: ROUGH / SKETCH / N. C. WYETH
ProvenanceProbably the Wyeth family; John Meigs, San Patricio, NM; (Fenn Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, Jan. 1995); MBNA America, Wilmington, DE, to 2000
Exhibition HistorySan Mateo, CA, Alma Gilbert Galleries, Inc., "The Wyeths: A Family Exhibit," Nov. 5 - 30, 1989, number 28 in exhibition listing; Rockland, ME, 1999, illustration in color p. 17
References Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.1305, p. 586-587
Curatorial RemarksThis pastel is related by subject matter to a charcoal drawing (NCW 2321) of the same figure which occurs in a vignette format in a different pose. There is no known painting after either the pastel or the drawing, but two other paintings deal with the same subject (see NCW 1390 and NCW 562). The large amount of area devoted to sky in this composition might indicate that the image was originally conceived as a magazine cover.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from artwork