Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
We're on Our Way
Alternate Title(s):Uncle Sam; Uncle Sam's America - The Arsenal of Democracy; Uncle Sam and Industry
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1942
Dimensions:
45 × 33 1/8 in. (114.3 × 84.1 cm)
Private collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.292
Research Number: NCW: 292
InscribedLower right: N. C. WYETH (underlined) / (B&B symbol) / N. C. WYETH (underlined)
ProvenanceKetterlinus Lithograph Mfg. Co., Philadelphia, PA, 1942 / 1943; Brown & Bigelow, St. Paul, MN, March 1943; (?); Private collection, NY, 1975; (Reese Palley Gallery, Atlantic City, NJ); (Christie's, New York, NY, Dec. 4, 1987, lot no. 172, as "Uncle Sam and Industry," did not sell); (Judy Goffman American Paintings, New York, NY, as "Uncle Sam"); (?); Montell USA Corporaton, Wilmington, DE, 1988 - 1999; Cawley Family Collection, to 2007; (Sotheby's, New York, NY, Nov. 28, 2007, lot no. 131);
Exhibition HistoryChadds Ford, PA, 1976(2); Rockland, ME, 2000, illustration in color, fig. 41, Washington, DC venue only
References
Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), C.170, p. 694
Curatorial RemarksThis painting was originally published by Ketterlinus Lithograph Mfg. Co., possibly as a war bond poster. According to a letter to N. C. Wyeth from his New York agent American Artists Company, the image was then sold (for $1200) to Brown & Bigelow, manufacturers of calendars for businesses. B & B insisted on some changes to the image--"so slight that it would be a pity to have it sent back to you....touching up a turret here and there...they can do very well...." (Wyeth Family Archives, March 18, 1943). The Brown & Bigelow reproduction was cropped above the figure of Uncle Sam, however, pentimenti from the scores of planes in the sky and the barrel of the gun from the turret remain from the original image. The gun barrel and the planes were painted out after the Brown & Bigelow use.
In 1972, the design was adapted to a circular form by the sculptor J. A. DiLorenzo and reproduced as silver plates (edition of 10,000) for the International Numismatic Agency (Coin World, March 1, 1972, p. 29), as "Uncle Sam's America - The Arsenal of Democracy"
In 1972, the design was adapted to a circular form by the sculptor J. A. DiLorenzo and reproduced as silver plates (edition of 10,000) for the International Numismatic Agency (Coin World, March 1, 1972, p. 29), as "Uncle Sam's America - The Arsenal of Democracy"
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:1. Transparency directly from painting; 2. transparency directly from print image, © Brown & Bigelow, Inc., St. Paul, Minnesota; 3. digital scan from
Photo Credit:1. Rick Echelmeyer, 1999; 2. Stephen Morrison