Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Pioneers -- The Opening of the Prairies.
Alternate Title(s):The Opening of the Prairies; The Pathfinder
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1915
Dimensions:
40 × 64 in. (101.6 × 162.6 cm)
Private collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.699
Research Number: NCW: 699
InscribedLower left: N. C. WYETH (underlined)
ProvenanceCharles Scribner's Sons, New York, NY; Bank of Canby, Canby, MN; (?); (Beard Art Gallery, Minneapolis, MN); Private collection, MN, and descended in family; (auctioned Jan. 29, 1982 by The Friends of the Institute to benefit of Minneapolis Institute of Arts); (Hammer Galleries, New York, NY, by 1985); (J. N. Bartfield Galleries, New York, NY, 1987); Private collection, New Jersey, to 2009; (Sotheby's, New York, NY, Dec. 3, 2009, lot no. 92)
References
Geoffrey Parsons, The Stream of History, vol. IV (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1929), p. 251, as "The Opening of the Prairies."; Ralph Henry Gabriel, ed., The Lure of the Frontier, A Story of Race Conflict (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1929), frontispiece illus. as "The Pathfinder"; T. J. Wertenbaker and Donald E. Smith, The United States of America, A History (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1931), illus. f. p. 256; James Truslow Adams, History of the United States, vol. II (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1933), b/w illus. at end of volume; James Truslow Adams and Charles G. Vannest, The Record of America (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1935), illus. in color f. p. 580; Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 276; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.599, p. 318
Curatorial RemarksThis picture was reproduced in Scribner's Jan. 1916 issue as one of 12 "American Historical Frontispieces," published during 1915 and 1916. (The other 11 are the work of other artists.) Scribner's also reproduced the image in black and white in a small brochure titled "25 Reasons why you will want to read Scribner's Magazine in 1915" (BRM library, #16665). The picture appears in a number of text books published by Scribner's.
Wyeth's studio collection includes a pair of moccasins (NCWS.95.2070) similar to the pair depicted on the main figure.
Wyeth's studio collection includes a pair of moccasins (NCWS.95.2070) similar to the pair depicted on the main figure.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Jack Abraham Photo