untitled (two men examining gun)

Artist:

N.C. Wyeth

(American, 1882 - 1945)

untitled (two men examining gun)

Alternate Title(s):Out for a Day's Shooting; A Day's Shooting
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: ca. 1909 / 1912
Dimensions:
28 × 20 in. (71.1 × 50.8 cm)
Private collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.2037
Research Number: NCW: 2037
InscribedNone visible
Provenance(Christie's East, New York, NY, Jan. 29, 1982, lot no. 132, as "Out for a Day's Shooting"); (Tilting at Windmills Gallery, Manchester, VT, 1982-1989); Private collection, VT; (Somerville/Manning Gallery, Greenville, DE, 2007)
Exhibition HistoryChadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum, "In Pursuit of Sport," Sept. 12 - Nov. 22, 1987; Greenville, DE, Somerville Manning Gallery, "N. C. Wyeth, Illustrations and Landscape Paintings," Oct. 13--Nov. 11, 2006, illus. (unpaginated)
References Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), C.11, p. 641
Curatorial RemarksThe gun being examined has been identified as a Remington double barreled shotgun (see Jennifer Houze, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, to C. B. Podmaniczky, Dec. 12, 1996, Brandywine River Museum). From about 1909 to 1914, Wyeth worked for ammunitions and firearms manufacturers; the painting is dated by its association with NCW 2036 and by a letter which may pertain to this image (NCW to Henriette Zirngiebel Wyeth, "I made a vow..." and dated in another hand April 23, 1909, Wyeth Family Archives).
Richard C. Wolbers of the Winterthur/University of Delaware program in art conservation examined the work by x-radiography, and found what he believes is a portrait of man below the surface image. The underimage has not been further identified.
The painting was destroyed by fire in December 2015.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:1. Photography directly from painting; 2. x-radiograph of underimage
Photo Credit:1. Courtesy Somerville Manning Gallery; 2. x-radiography courtesy of Richard C. Wolbers, Winterthur/University of Delaware Art Conservation Program, August 2006