Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
The Moose Hunter. A Moonlight Night.
Alternate Title(s):A Moonlit Night; Moose Hunters - A Moonlit Night
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1908
Dimensions:
40 × 21 1/2 in. (101.6 × 54.6 cm)
John W. Dreyer, Allendale, NJ
Accession number: SUPP2000.118
Research Number: NCW: 118
InscribedUpper left: N. C. WYETH (underlined)
ProvenanceThe artist; I. W. Cokefair, New York, NY, Jan. 1912; (?); Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Wyeth, by 1965-at least 1972; (?); Daniel M. Galbreath; (Coeur d' Alene, ID, Coeur d'Alene Art Auction, July 27, 1996, lot no. 102, as "Moose Hunters - A Moonlit Night")
Exhibition HistoryHarrisburg, PA, 1965, no. 47, as "A Moonlit Night"; Rockland, ME, 1966, no. 11; Wilmington, DE, 1968, no. 9; Chadds Ford, PA, 1972 (not in catalogue)
References
Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1972), p. 276, illustration in color p. 125; Peggy Robbins, "The Magic of N. C. Wyeth," South Carolina Wildlife, (Jan.-Feb. 1979), illus. in color p. 22; Zack Taylor, "The Outdoor Illustrations of N. C. Wyeth," Sports Afield, vol. 183, no. 6 (June 1980), color illus. p. 74; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.265, p. 193
Curatorial RemarksThe artist contracted to do this picture for Forbes Lithograph Mfg. Co. In November 1908 he wrote to his mother "I have been instructed by the Forbes Company to put "lots of color in it, and lots of contrast." Now, moonlight as I know it, is very subdued in both respects and I'll not prostitute what little precious knowledge I have of those things for a lithografing(sic) concern!" (Wyeth Family Archives) If Forbes did reproduce this painting, no print has come to light. It's more likely that Forbes found the coloration too subtle and Wyeth eventually sold the reproduction rights to Scribner's. The image was published in Scribner's Magazine as a color picture unrelated to a story or article.
An exact copy of this image is held in a private midwestern collection, signed by Wyeth's friend and fellow illustrator Zack Hoag (aka Haig, Hogg, 1886-1983).
An exact copy of this image is held in a private midwestern collection, signed by Wyeth's friend and fellow illustrator Zack Hoag (aka Haig, Hogg, 1886-1983).
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Paul Mutino, 2002