Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Treasure Island, cover illustration
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1911
Dimensions:
47 × 33 in. (119.4 × 83.8 cm)
Private collection, Boston, MA
Accession number: SUPP2000.375
Research Number: NCW: 375
InscribedLower right: N. C. WYETH (underlined) / 1911
ProvenanceCharles Scribner's Sons, New York, NY, and sold to Scribner's retail department in 1916; by 1951, the Tucker family and for sale; probably purchased by Andrew Wyeth; by 1954, with Knoedler Galleries, New York, NY, stock # 54856); Mr. Robert F. Woolworth, New York, NY and Winthrop, ME; (Frank Fowler, 1990); Private collection, NJ, and descended in family
Exhibition HistoryPhiladelphia, PA, 1912(3), no. 104, as "Pirates"; New York, NY, 1957, no. 97, illustration in color on cover; Chadds Ford, PA, 1990(1); Portland, ME, 2000, illustration in color, fig. 4 p. 12; Chadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum, "N. C. Wyeth's Treasure Island: Classic Illustrations for a Classic Tale," Sept. 10- Nov. 20, 2011
References
The Philadelphia Record, Dec. 1, 1912, (Archives of American Art, roll P55-1, frame 742); "Stouthearted Heroes of a Beloved Painter," Life Magazine, vol. 43, no. 24 (Dec. 9, 1957), illus. in color, p. 97; Betsy James Wyeth, ed., The Wyeths, The Letters of N. C. Wyeth, 1901-1945 (Boston: Gambit, 1971), p. 380; Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 218; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.329, p. 218
Curatorial RemarksThis painting and three others were the result of the tremendous effort Wyeth made during the first two weeks of April, 1911. "Not until this morning did I realize just how much I had accomplished; but when I started to pack my work of two weeks," he wrote to his family, "it dawned upon me to complete four huge pictures in two weeks was going some! Well, I did, and I am proud of them...Yes, the cover design, the decoration for the book lining, the title page and one illustration. These had to be hustled through in order that Scribner's could get out a "dummy" book for their salesmen" (NCW to "Folks All," dated by NCW April 17, 1911, Wyeth Family Archives).
The painting's appearance in Philadelphia, PA, 1912(3) is confirmed by a review in the Philadelphia Record, Dec. 1. 1912.
The early provenance is confusing. A Scribner's card at the BRMA (No. B1620) notes that the painting was sold to the retail department of Scribner's in 1916. The painting must have been purchased for a private collection. By 1951, according to a letter from Hazel Lewis of Macbeth Gallery to Andrew Wyeth, the painting was owned by a member of the Tucker family and was for sale. Andrew Wyeth must have purchased the painting, because it was among the many that Wyeth deposited in 1954 at Knoedler Gallery, for the 1957 exhibition.
The painting's appearance in Philadelphia, PA, 1912(3) is confirmed by a review in the Philadelphia Record, Dec. 1. 1912.
The early provenance is confusing. A Scribner's card at the BRMA (No. B1620) notes that the painting was sold to the retail department of Scribner's in 1916. The painting must have been purchased for a private collection. By 1951, according to a letter from Hazel Lewis of Macbeth Gallery to Andrew Wyeth, the painting was owned by a member of the Tucker family and was for sale. Andrew Wyeth must have purchased the painting, because it was among the many that Wyeth deposited in 1954 at Knoedler Gallery, for the 1957 exhibition.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:1.Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:1. Rick Echelmeyer, 1999; 2. BRM staff