Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
The Torch Race The Grecian Olympics of 1000 BC
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: ca. 1927 / 1928
Dimensions:
37 3/4 × 27 1/4 in. (95.9 × 69.2 cm)
The General Electric Company
Accession number: SUPP2000.1160
Research Number: NCW: 1160
Provenance(?); private collection, Cleveland, OH; Mr. and Mrs. Leslie R. Mansfield, Cleveland, OH, ca. 1968; (Grand Central Art Galleries, New York, NY, 1979)
Exhibition HistoryGrand Central Art Galleries, New York, NY, "American Illustrators: The Twenties, Adventure, Suspense, Romance and Humor", May 8 - 25, 1979, no. 86 p. 9, illus. b/w p. 16; Dearborn, MI, Henry Ford Museum, summer of 1988
References
Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 290, color illustration p. 147; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), C.64, p. 658-659
Curatorial RemarksLike the other image Wyeth did for Edison-Mazda ("Carvers of the Sphinx," NCW 1392), this painting came to light missing its decorative borders (including a title box), trimmed of approximately 2 ½ inches along the bottom edge of the image (removing the artist's signature, a copyright symbol and "G. E. Co."), and adhered to a hardboard support (Leslie R. Mansfield to Anne E. Mayer, Oct. 19, 1972, Brandywine River Museum catalogue raisonné files). According to the same letter, the mounting was done in Cleveland in the late 1940s or early 1950s, and the portion of the canvas which showed the signature and title were pasted to the back of the hardboard.
The painting is dated by its association with the "Sphinx" commission which is well documented in letters. No correspondence referring to "The Torch Race" has come to light, but it seems likely, given the themes of each and the similar decorative treatment, that they were conceived to be part of the same advertising campaign.
A private collection includes a large charcoal study of the runners (NCW 1369), and the Brandywine River Museum holds a lantern slide (NCWS.95.1825.195) of the composition drawing that was used in the transfer of the design from paper to canvas.
The painting is dated by its association with the "Sphinx" commission which is well documented in letters. No correspondence referring to "The Torch Race" has come to light, but it seems likely, given the themes of each and the similar decorative treatment, that they were conceived to be part of the same advertising campaign.
A private collection includes a large charcoal study of the runners (NCW 1369), and the Brandywine River Museum holds a lantern slide (NCWS.95.1825.195) of the composition drawing that was used in the transfer of the design from paper to canvas.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:1. Transparency directly from painting; 2. Digital photography from b/w archival photograph
Photo Credit:1. Rudinec & Associates, 2/2/2007; 2. Rick Echelmeyer, 1/16/2007