Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
John Brimblecombe
Alternate Title(s):Amyas and Brimblecomb
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1920
Dimensions:
approximately 40 × 30 in. (101.6 × 76.2 cm)
Private collection, ME
Accession number: SUPP2000.1195
Research Number: NCW: 1195
InscribedLower left: N. C. WYETH (underlined)
ProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. N. C. Wyeth (with M. Knoedler & Co., # 54851); Carolyn Wyeth; [Frank E. Fowler]; Mr. and Mrs. James N. Strausbaugh, Greenville, SC, 1974; (Mongerson Gallery, Chicago, IL, 1976); (American Illustrators Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 1979); Private collection, ME; (Barridoff Galleries, Portland, ME, Aug. 2, 2000, lot no. 196)
Exhibition HistoryPhiladelphia, PA, 1921, as "Amyas and John Brimblecomb"; Wilmington, DE, 1946, no. 52; Washington, DC, 1946, no. 30; New York, NY, 1957, no. 108; Lubbock, TX, 1959, no. 36; Greenville, SC, 1974, no. 95
References
Richard Layton, "Inventory of Paintings in the Wyeth Studio, 1950," unpublished, Wyeth Family Archives, p. 9; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.832, p. 411; Joe Lawlor, "The Mystery of the Stolen Wyeths," Portland Press Herald, July 15, 2015, p.4;
Curatorial RemarksAfter he completed the Westward Ho! illustrations, Wyeth wrote to Joseph H. Chapin, "I am trembling to tell you this, but it must be said - that I have withdrawn one of the Westward Ho! pictures and am doing it over again. With the set completed, the drawing showing John Brimblecombe stood out as distinctly inferior to the rest and I could not let it go through. Doing this will in no way hold back the work of engraving, and anyway, it will be done in a couple of days." (NCW to Joseph H. Chapin, July 19, 1920, Archives of Charles Scribner's Sons, Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library). It is not clear from this letter whether the artist created an entirely new painting, or whether he modified the unacceptable one.
In preparation for this commission, the artist read and annotated an edition published by Thomas Nelson & Sons, London, 1907 (Brandywine River Museum library # 22481). According to Scribner's records, all paintings in the set were the property of the artist and returned to him on Aug. 19, 1921. Scribner's paid Wyeth $3,500 for the commission.
In preparation for this commission, the artist read and annotated an edition published by Thomas Nelson & Sons, London, 1907 (Brandywine River Museum library # 22481). According to Scribner's records, all paintings in the set were the property of the artist and returned to him on Aug. 19, 1921. Scribner's paid Wyeth $3,500 for the commission.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:photography directly from artwork
Photo Credit:Courtesy the Archive of the American Illustrators Gallery, NYC