Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
The Red Pung
Alternate Title(s):Grandfather's Sleigh; My Grandfather; My Grandfather's Sleigh
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: ca. 1931
Dimensions:
43 3/8 × 52 1/8 in. (110.2 × 132.4 cm)
Private collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.52
Research Number: NCW: 52
InscribedLower left: N. C. WYETH (underlined); Written on reverse of canvas: <- 6" ->; in NCW's hand directly on stretcher: N. C. WYETH / CHADDS FORD, PA; written directly on top stretcher: NO. 12 / 145 (circled) / (illegible); attached to top stretcher, remnants of exhibition label (Chicago, IL, 1932); paper label adhered to top stretcher: THIS PAINTING IS THE PROPERTY OF / N. C. WYETH / NOT FOR SALE / CHADDS FORD, PA
ProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. N. C. Wyeth; Ann Wyeth McCoy
Exhibition HistoryPhiladelphia, PA, 1932, no. 271 as "The Red Pung"; Chicago, IL, 1932, no. 213, as "The Red Pung"; Washington, DC, 1934, no. 30, as "The Red Pung"; Philadelphia, PA, 1935(2), as "My Grandfather"; possibly West Chester, PA, 1935(1) as "My Grandfather"; New York, NY, 1936, no. 93, illustration in b/w; Wilmington, DE, 1946, no. 7 as "Grandfather's Sleigh"; Washington, DC, 1946, no. 12, as "Grandfather's Sleigh"; Princeton, NJ, 1977, no. 10, as "Grandfather's Sleigh"; Lititz, PA, 1995; Chadds Ford, PA, 1995, no. 24, illustration in b/w, p. 30; Portland, ME, 2000, p. 58
References
C. H. Bonte, "That Gifted Wyeth Family Exhibiting at the Alliance," Philadelphia Inquirer, March 31, 1935, p. SO 9; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, Catalogue Raisonne of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), P.36, p. 816
Curatorial RemarksThis picture depicts Wyeth's maternal grandfather, John Denys Zirngiebel (1829-1905). The house on the left is the artist's boyhood home, the "Germanic" style cottage built by his father in 1882 in Needham, MA. The strip of blue is the Charles River which bounded the property, and in the far background is the home of "Mr. Onion," an Civil War veteran Wyeth remembered from his boyhood, who often served as an inspiration for figues in his paintings.
In January 1940, Wyeth considered selling the reproduction rights to this painting for a Christmas card (American Artists Group, Inc., to NCW, Jan. 23, 1940, Wyeth Family Archives, with contract). The Brandywine River Museum of Art holds one copy of what might be the front half of the card that was produced. The reproduction is 6 inches wide (a fact that might relate to the inscription on the reverse of the canvas), backed by a slightly larger piece of gold paper, the two tip-mounted onto blue card stock.
Ann Wyeth McCoy, the artist's daughter, was inspired by this painting to compose related music. Her handwritten music (96.1.565), with a watercolor of the horse and sleigh on the cover, is held by the Brandywine River Museum of Art. The sheet music was presented to her father as Christmas gift in 1933.
In January 1940, Wyeth considered selling the reproduction rights to this painting for a Christmas card (American Artists Group, Inc., to NCW, Jan. 23, 1940, Wyeth Family Archives, with contract). The Brandywine River Museum of Art holds one copy of what might be the front half of the card that was produced. The reproduction is 6 inches wide (a fact that might relate to the inscription on the reverse of the canvas), backed by a slightly larger piece of gold paper, the two tip-mounted onto blue card stock.
Ann Wyeth McCoy, the artist's daughter, was inspired by this painting to compose related music. Her handwritten music (96.1.565), with a watercolor of the horse and sleigh on the cover, is held by the Brandywine River Museum of Art. The sheet music was presented to her father as Christmas gift in 1933.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Rick Echelmeyer, 1995