Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Once the girl started through the yard as though she would rush after them and stopped at the gate.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1930 / 1931
Dimensions:
34 1/8 × 25 3/16 in. (86.7 × 64 cm)
Private collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.1722
Research Number: NCW: 1722
InscribedLower right: N. C. WYETH (underlined) / N. C. WYETH (faintly and underlined); label attached to top stretcher bar: MELISSA / from The Little Shepherd / of Kingdom Come / N. C. WYETH
ProvenanceThe artist; Ann Wyeth McCoy to 2005, and descended in family to 2017; [with Heather James Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA)
Exhibition HistoryPalm Desert, CA, Heather James Gallery, "The Art of the Wyeth Family," Feb.-May 2017;
References
Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 205, b/w illustration p. 118; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.1158, p. 533
Curatorial RemarksThe N. C. Wyeth House/Studio library includes a 1903 edition of this title (NCWS.95.655), illustrated by F. C. Yohn. The copy contains notations Wyeth made as he planned his own edition. The Brandywine River Museum holds an archival photograph of this painting inscribed in the artist's hand: Melissa - A Kentucky Heroine / oil-25 x 36- / N. C. W. / Scribners.
This book was not intended as one of the holiday gift books that Wyeth had done earlier for Scribner's. A letter to the artist from Arthur H. Scribner (Aug. 27, 1930), makes it clear that the publishers hoped to have this book out in May or June, 1931 (Scribner's Archives, Princeton University Library).
This book was not intended as one of the holiday gift books that Wyeth had done earlier for Scribner's. A letter to the artist from Arthur H. Scribner (Aug. 27, 1930), makes it clear that the publishers hoped to have this book out in May or June, 1931 (Scribner's Archives, Princeton University Library).
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Stephen Morrison