Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
St. Andrew's School mural
The Planning of St. Andrew's by Trustees and Headmaster (viewer's right)
Saint Andrew's Students Surround Alma Mater (viewer's left)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1938
Dimensions:
112 × 360 in. (284.5 × 914.4 cm)
St. Andrew's School
Accession number: SUPP2000.1467
Research Number: NCW: 1467
InscribedLower left of left side: N. C. WYETH (underlined) - '38
ProvenanceCommissioned from the artist by Mrs. Irenee du Pont for St. Andrew's School
References
"St. Andrew's School, The First Decade, 1930-1940," Report of St. Andrew's School Trustees, illustrated in b/w on front and back covers; N. C. Wyeth, Income Tax Notes for 1940 (unpublished, Brandywine River Museum Library); Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), ps. 165 and 169, see b/w illustration (detail) p. 169; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), M.57, p. 624, 625
Curatorial RemarksThe artist's copy of the contract (Brandywine River Museum library collection) between him and Mrs. Irenee du Pont, signed June 11,1936, stipulated that the work would be complete by March 15, 1937, contingent on completion of the building. Construction delays may have been the reason Wyeth gave up working on the decorations in June of 1937, not to take up the work again until a year later (NCW to Carolyn Bockius Wyeth, June 4, 1937, and June 20, 1938, Wyeth Family Archives).
In September 1938, Wyeth wrote, "Another reason for our return here (to Chadds Ford) was to install the St. Andrews (sic) mural. Saturday night I completed the job, carved shield and all. It has, at least, the virtue of fitting perfectly into the room and looking as though it had always been there....It will, of course, find little favor in the modern art world, but I gain some satisfaction from having accomplished what I set out to do--to fit a comprehensive bit of decorative realism into an old fashioned room for boys to look at and to be interested in....I spent four days on re-adjustments after the canvas was mounted, so the waxing is still to be done--in two or three months" (NCW to Henriette Wyeth Hurd, Sept. 5, 1938, Wyeth Family Archives).
Portraits of the founders of the school are from life, and some head studies in pencil are found in the Andrew and Betsy Wyeth collection (NCW 2148-2151, 2232). The Brandywine River Museum holds the presentation painting (NCW 944) and archival photographs of portions of the design drawn on the support, preparatory to color.;Although the letter of September 1938 specifically mentions the carved shield, a note found within Wyeth's 1940 income tax material (BRM library) indicates that additional work was done on the mural. The page, headed "Extra Work on St. Andrews School Mural," records the cost of gilding (10.00) and hanging the coat of arms (15.00), plus trips to Middletown (10.00) "for lettering" and Philadelphia (5.00) "for letter data."
The Dead Poets Society (1989) was filmed at St. Andrews School and gimpses of the mural occur in the movie.
In September 1938, Wyeth wrote, "Another reason for our return here (to Chadds Ford) was to install the St. Andrews (sic) mural. Saturday night I completed the job, carved shield and all. It has, at least, the virtue of fitting perfectly into the room and looking as though it had always been there....It will, of course, find little favor in the modern art world, but I gain some satisfaction from having accomplished what I set out to do--to fit a comprehensive bit of decorative realism into an old fashioned room for boys to look at and to be interested in....I spent four days on re-adjustments after the canvas was mounted, so the waxing is still to be done--in two or three months" (NCW to Henriette Wyeth Hurd, Sept. 5, 1938, Wyeth Family Archives).
Portraits of the founders of the school are from life, and some head studies in pencil are found in the Andrew and Betsy Wyeth collection (NCW 2148-2151, 2232). The Brandywine River Museum holds the presentation painting (NCW 944) and archival photographs of portions of the design drawn on the support, preparatory to color.;Although the letter of September 1938 specifically mentions the carved shield, a note found within Wyeth's 1940 income tax material (BRM library) indicates that additional work was done on the mural. The page, headed "Extra Work on St. Andrews School Mural," records the cost of gilding (10.00) and hanging the coat of arms (15.00), plus trips to Middletown (10.00) "for lettering" and Philadelphia (5.00) "for letter data."
The Dead Poets Society (1989) was filmed at St. Andrews School and gimpses of the mural occur in the movie.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Digital photography directly from mural
Photo Credit:Eric Crossan, Townsend, DE, 6/2004