Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Cowboy Watering His Horse
Medium: Oil on hardboard (Renaissance Panel)
Date: ca. 1937
Dimensions:
36 × 24 in. (91.4 × 61 cm)
Museum of Texas Tech University
Accession number: SUPP2000.567
Research Number: NCW: 567
InscribedLower right: N. C. WYETH (underlined); on reverse of panel, Renaissance Panel label, no. 540 dated 2/23/37; painted on reverse of panel in NCW's hand: DO NOT REMOVE THIS / PANEL FROM FRAME / DO NOT (underlined) APPLY ANY VARNISH, / VASELINE, OR OTHER APPLICATION / TO THIS PAINTING. / N. C. WYETH / THIS IS A PAINTING ON GESSO GROUND
Provenance(Carlton Palmer, Alanta, GA, ca. 1960); Mr.and Mrs. Fred T. Hogan, Midland, TX, ca. 1960-1975
Exhibition HistorySan Angelo, TX, 1993; Lubbock, TX, 1999; Tyler, TX, Tyler Museum of Art, "The Wyeths Across Texas," no. 14, p. 68, illus. p. 69;
References
Kate F. Jennings, N. C. Wyeth (New York: Brompton Books Corp., Crescent Books, 1992), illus. in color, p. 43; David Michaelis, N. C. Wyeth, A Biography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998), illus. in color after p. 372; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), C.115, p. 674; Henry Adams, "The Wyeths Across Texas," American Art Review, XXIV, no. 5 (Sept.-Oct. 2012), illus. in color p. 123; Toby Thompson, "Perspective: N. C. Wyeth (1882-1945)," Western Art and Architecture, vol. 8, no. 6 (Dec. 2014/Jan. 2015), illus. in color, p. 102;
Curatorial RemarksPentimenti of a Coca-Cola bottle are evident in the cowboy's raised hand; the two Coke bottles in the stream were also painted out and "uncovered" during a restoration. The Brandywine River Museum of Art holds a lantern slide (NCWS.95.1825.212) of the charcoal composition drawing used in the transfer of the image from paper to panel; all three Coke bottles appear in the drawing. The date of the painting is based on the date of the Renaissance Panel.
There seems to be no known use of the image in the late 1930s. In 2019, a print of the painting as is (with no bottle in the cowboy's hand) was reported to the BRMA, with an image size of 11 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches.
There seems to be no known use of the image in the late 1930s. In 2019, a print of the painting as is (with no bottle in the cowboy's hand) was reported to the BRMA, with an image size of 11 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Courtesy of Texas Tech University Museum