Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Ethan Allen, Forerunner of Independence
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1934
Dimensions:
46 1/8 × 36 1/4 in. (117.2 × 92.1 cm)
Private collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.1489
Research Number: NCW: 1489
InscribedLower left: N. C. WYETH (underlined)
ProvenanceDixon Ticonderoga Company, Maitland, FL, to May 2001; (Christie's, New York, NY, lot no. 94, May 23, 2001, but did not sell); (Christie's, New York, NY, lot no. 149, May 18, 2004, but did not sell); (American Illustrators Gallery, New York, NY, 2005); Private corporate collection, New York, NY; (Christie's, New York, NY, May 16, 2012, lot no. 72); (with Schoonover Studios, Wilmington, DE, 6/2016)
Exhibition HistoryJersey City, NJ, Jersey City Museum, "Pencil Points: Selections from the Dixon Ticonderoga Company Collection," Aug. 31- Nov. 12, 1994, cover illustration in b/w; Chadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum of Art, June 22-Sept. 15, 2019, "N. C. Wyeth: New Perspectives," illus. p. 186
References
Robert Ingersoll, "N. C. Wyeth, Painter and Father of Painters," Sunday Today, The Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine, July 4, 1965, p. 5; American History Illustrated, vol. IV, no. 3 (June 1969), cover illustration; Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 294; B. J. Elliot, The Best of Its Kind Since 1795: The Incredible American Heritage of the Dixon Ticonderoga Company (Heathrow, FL: Dixon-Ticonderoga, 1996, cover illustration and ps. 182-183; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), C.95, p. 668
Curatorial RemarksThe Brandywine River Museum holds a display poster, measuring 31 3/4 x 23 3/4 inches (NCWS.95.6538) found in the artist's studio and a lantern slide (NCWS.95.1825.205) of the composition drawing used in the transfer of the design from paper to canvas. The charcoal composition drawing (NCW 1358) is privately held.
According to a story related by Chadds Ford historian Chris Sanderson, Wyeth originally painted Allen's coat in green, a reference to the Green Mountain Boys. Wyeth hired Sanderson to take the painting to New York, but the advertising agency handling the account refused to accept the picture with the green coat. Wyeth himself repainted the coat (see Ingersoll, 1965; story repeated by Andrew Nathaniel Wyeth to David Michaelis in letter dated Feb. 22, 1995).
According to a story related by Chadds Ford historian Chris Sanderson, Wyeth originally painted Allen's coat in green, a reference to the Green Mountain Boys. Wyeth hired Sanderson to take the painting to New York, but the advertising agency handling the account refused to accept the picture with the green coat. Wyeth himself repainted the coat (see Ingersoll, 1965; story repeated by Andrew Nathaniel Wyeth to David Michaelis in letter dated Feb. 22, 1995).
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:photography directly from painting
Photo Credit:Courtesy of Christie's, 6/2004