Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
The Americans at Château-Thierry
Alternate Title(s):Château-Thierry!; Battle of Château-Thierry
Medium: Oil on canvas mounted on hardboard
Date: 1918 / 1919
Dimensions:
36 1/8 × 44 1/4 in. (91.8 × 112.4 cm)
Private collection, West Chester, PA
Accession number: SUPP2000.1398
Research Number: NCW: 1398
InscribedLower left: N. C. WYETH (underlined) / 1917
ProvenanceAmerican Legion B. F. Schlegel Post, West Chester, PA, 1921- 1965; Private collection, West Chester, PA
Exhibition HistoryPossibly Wilmington, DE, 1919, no. 15, as "Château-Thierry!"; 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. 157
References
possibly "Fine Arts Exhibit Attracts Especial Interest This Year," (Wilmington, DE) Morning News, Feb. 5, 1919, p. 12; "Opening Day Highlight," West Chester Daily Local News, Aug. 29, 1968; Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 269; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.732, p. 375
Curatorial RemarksThe painting is signed and dated 1917, the year before AEF fought at Château-Thierry and Belleau Wood. The magazine reproduction shows a signature in the lower left in letters darker than the background; the present signature is in letters lighter than the background, indicating that the painting may have been signed again and dated (in error) at a later time.
The realism of this painting contrasts markedly with the more sanitized views of war that Wyeth painted around the same time. This image was based on information Wyeth received from George L. Linder (1889-1960), a veteran of the Château-Thierry battle who lived in West Chester, PA. "I have been requested by the Pictorial Review to paint them a picture of the Château-Thierry fight...and it was in search for material that I luckily came across Machine Gunner Linder. We have spent several hours together and he has been here at the house." (NCW to Henriette Zirngiebel Wyeth, dated only "5.30 Friday Morning," Dec. 13, 1918 in another hand, Wyeth Family Archives). "Opening Day Highlight" (West Chester Daily Local News, Aug. 29, 1968) reproduced a photograph of Linder standing behind the painting.
The Pictorial Review featured the upcoming reproduction of this painting in the April 1919 issue with the following notices in local newspapers: "Chateau-Thierry is a name that wil remain immortal forever in American history. There our marines fought and died; there they gained everlasting honor and glory. N. C. Wyeth, the noted American artist, has painted a veritable masterpiece depicting the most exciting moment of the whole engagement." (Pittsburgh Press, March 18, 1919, pg. 12.)
To the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts 7th Annual Exhibition in Feb. 1919, Wyeth sent a picture, number 15, titled in the catalogue "Chateau Thierry!" No contemporary accounts of the exhibition describe the painting, so it is impossible to determine whether it was this image or NCW 1398 that was shown. The painting was acquired in 1921 by the American Legion of West Chester, PA, through the efforts of Hannah Sanderson, a Wyeth family friend. Her son, historian Chris Sanderson, lectured to raise funds for the purchase ("Bought Historical Painting," West Chester (PA) Daily Local News, Nov. 4, 1921).
A detail from the painting was reproduced on a medal issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the battle.
The realism of this painting contrasts markedly with the more sanitized views of war that Wyeth painted around the same time. This image was based on information Wyeth received from George L. Linder (1889-1960), a veteran of the Château-Thierry battle who lived in West Chester, PA. "I have been requested by the Pictorial Review to paint them a picture of the Château-Thierry fight...and it was in search for material that I luckily came across Machine Gunner Linder. We have spent several hours together and he has been here at the house." (NCW to Henriette Zirngiebel Wyeth, dated only "5.30 Friday Morning," Dec. 13, 1918 in another hand, Wyeth Family Archives). "Opening Day Highlight" (West Chester Daily Local News, Aug. 29, 1968) reproduced a photograph of Linder standing behind the painting.
The Pictorial Review featured the upcoming reproduction of this painting in the April 1919 issue with the following notices in local newspapers: "Chateau-Thierry is a name that wil remain immortal forever in American history. There our marines fought and died; there they gained everlasting honor and glory. N. C. Wyeth, the noted American artist, has painted a veritable masterpiece depicting the most exciting moment of the whole engagement." (Pittsburgh Press, March 18, 1919, pg. 12.)
To the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts 7th Annual Exhibition in Feb. 1919, Wyeth sent a picture, number 15, titled in the catalogue "Chateau Thierry!" No contemporary accounts of the exhibition describe the painting, so it is impossible to determine whether it was this image or NCW 1398 that was shown. The painting was acquired in 1921 by the American Legion of West Chester, PA, through the efforts of Hannah Sanderson, a Wyeth family friend. Her son, historian Chris Sanderson, lectured to raise funds for the purchase ("Bought Historical Painting," West Chester (PA) Daily Local News, Nov. 4, 1921).
A detail from the painting was reproduced on a medal issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the battle.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Rick Echelmeyer, 12/1/2005