Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
The Story of Perfume
Medium: Oil on hardboard (Renaissance Panel)
Date: 1940
Dimensions:
27 × 25 in. (68.6 × 63.5 cm)
National Music Museum, The University of South Dakota, Vermillion
Accession number: SUPP2000.830
Research Number: NCW: 830
InscribedLower right (scratched into ground): N. C. WYETH (underlined); adhered to reverse of panel, Renaissance Panel label no. 823, dated 10/27/39
ProvenanceJohn Morrell & Company, Ottumwa, IA; gift to The University of South Dakota, 1941 (Sotheby's, New York, NY, lot no. 163, Dec. 3, 2003, but did not sell)
References
N. C. Wyeth, Income tax notes for 1940 (unpublished, Brandywine River Museum); Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), ps. 156, 291; Milo Dailey, "Given to University by John Morrell & Co. Collection of N. C. Wyeth Paintings Hanging in USD School of Business" Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan, Sept. 13, 1972, p. 19; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), C.140, p. 684
Curatorial RemarksThe artist's income tax notes for 1940 itemize the expenses involved in creating this painting; materials, models and costumes. The Brandywine River Museum holds a lantern slide (NCWS.95.1825.430) of the charcoal drawing for the image, used in the transfer of the design from paper to panel.
The author John Kieran wrote the text printed below this image in the calendar:
The perfumes of Araby and India were famous in song and story as well as in trade, many centuries ago. The first perfumes were probably pressed from flowers, distillation being introduced by the Arabians, whose "Attar of Roses" became world famous. Now, in many countries, perfumes are manufactured from flowers, trees, gums, animal secretions, and even raw chemicals. France produces many of the most expensive brands of the modern market, and the custom duties on these imports have furnished the United States treasury with a tidy sum. The basis of most perfumes is a volatile essential oil of aromatic flavor, diluted or blended for various tastes or markets.
The author John Kieran wrote the text printed below this image in the calendar:
The perfumes of Araby and India were famous in song and story as well as in trade, many centuries ago. The first perfumes were probably pressed from flowers, distillation being introduced by the Arabians, whose "Attar of Roses" became world famous. Now, in many countries, perfumes are manufactured from flowers, trees, gums, animal secretions, and even raw chemicals. France produces many of the most expensive brands of the modern market, and the custom duties on these imports have furnished the United States treasury with a tidy sum. The basis of most perfumes is a volatile essential oil of aromatic flavor, diluted or blended for various tastes or markets.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Courtesy of Sotheby's, 9/2003