Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Fort McHenry
Medium: Watercolor on paper
Date: ca. 1933 / 1937
Dimensions:
sight: approximately 12 1/4 x 11 1/4 in. (31.1 x 28.5 cm)
Private collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.2478
Research Number: NCW: 2478
InscribedLower left: N. C. WYETH (underlined)
ProvenanceObtained from the artist and descended in family of first owner
References
Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), C.92, p. 667
Curatorial RemarksThis image probably was intended as a preliminary sketch, painted as part of a proposed set of pictures inspired by famous American poems for distribution by the Coca-Cola Company as educational material for classroom use. Inscriptions accompanying the work associate the image with "Defense of Fort McHenry," a poem by Francis Scott Key which became The Star Spangled Banner. The present owner believes that the image was never published, and there is no indication that Wyeth executed the design in oil. The Coca Cola Company Archives has no record of the series. Dating rests on Wyeth's earliest known commission for Coca-Cola (NCW 2481) for which watercolor work was done, and association with two oil on canvas paintings (NCW 685 and NCW 1179) known to be part of the poetry series. In 1941, Wyeth reversed and reworked the design for a New York Life Insurance Company calendar image.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Digital photography from artwork
Photo Credit:Paul Mutino, 10/2006