Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
It was hard to remember that he was only the wandering leader of an Arab caravan.
Alternate Title(s):Muhammad the Prophet; The Prophet; The Prophet Mohammed
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1910
Dimensions:
47 × 38 in. (119.4 × 96.5 cm)
Collection of Joel and Suzanne Sugg
Accession number: SUPP2000.155
Research Number: NCW: 155
InscribedAdhered to frame, a deteriorated label (probably Scribner's), with fragments of print (..Fi..) and written in pen: Wyeth, N. C. 27915
ProvenanceCharles Scribner's Sons, New York, NY, #27915; [?]; (Victor H. Neirinckx, New York, N Y, 1960); Collection of Douglas Allen, Jr.; (?); (Brandywine Fantasy Gallery; Kenilworth, IL, 1989)
Exhibition Historypossibly Philadelphia, PA, 1917, no. 454, as "The Prophet"; Chadds Ford, PA, 1972, no. 86, as "The Prophet Mohammed"; Brookings, SD, 1973, no. 10; San Angelo, TX, 1993; Lubbock, TX, 1999, as "The Prophet"; Newport News, VA, 2000
References
Betsy James Wyeth, ed., The Wyeths, The Letters of N. C. Wyeth, 1901-1945 (Boston: Gambit, 1971), ps. 344, 365; Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 275, color illustration p. 74, as "Muhammad the Prophet"; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.320, p. 215
Curatorial RemarksNCW wrote to his mother Dec. 27, 1909, "Was called to N.Y. Friday and met Conan Doyle. Am to paint three pictures to illustrate important writings of his to appear in Aug. Scribner's. He suggested I do them." The paintings NCW did, this and three others, appeared in issues dated Nov. and Dec. 2010 and Jan. 2011.
The Philadelphia, PA, 1917 exhibition venue cannot be confirmed and the suggestion is based solely on the use of the alternate title. Since four of the six paintings Wyeth showed in that exhibition dated from 1916 or 1917, one wonders whether he would have included work done 7 years earlier.
The Philadelphia, PA, 1917 exhibition venue cannot be confirmed and the suggestion is based solely on the use of the alternate title. Since four of the six paintings Wyeth showed in that exhibition dated from 1916 or 1917, one wonders whether he would have included work done 7 years earlier.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Gregg L. Vicik, 8/2000