Artist:
Stanley M. Arthurs
(American, 1877 - 1950)
Pyle's Barn
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: ca. 1918
Dimensions:
20 × 26 in. (50.8 × 66 cm)
Accession number: 2008.16
Curatorial RemarksNeither this painting nor N. C. Wyeth’s view of “Pyle’s Barn” is dated, but the similarities between the two suggest Wyeth and Arthurs may have painted them at the same time. The artists knew each other from the Howard Pyle School, and Arthurs lived in nearby Wilmington, Delaware.
Wyeth’s painting can be dated no earlier than 1917, and the inscription on Arthur’s painting indicates that the artist gave it to photographer William Shewell Ellis in 1924. In October, 1918, Wyeth wrote to his parents of rumors that the barn would be torn down and it is tempting to believe he painted his view as a souvenir before moving his family to Needham, Massachusetts, in 1921.But he returned to Chadds Ford in the summer of 1923, and it is possible that he and Arthurs may have renewed their acquaintance by painting the barn.
Wyeth’s painting can be dated no earlier than 1917, and the inscription on Arthur’s painting indicates that the artist gave it to photographer William Shewell Ellis in 1924. In October, 1918, Wyeth wrote to his parents of rumors that the barn would be torn down and it is tempting to believe he painted his view as a souvenir before moving his family to Needham, Massachusetts, in 1921.But he returned to Chadds Ford in the summer of 1923, and it is possible that he and Arthurs may have renewed their acquaintance by painting the barn.