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In the Crystal Depths
In the Crystal Depths
In the Crystal Depths
(American, 1882 - 1945)

In the Crystal Depths

Oil on canvas
1906
38 × 26 in. (96.5 × 66 cm)
81.6
Purchased with Museum funds, 1981
Not on view

This is one of five paintings by N. C. Wyeth of woodland Native Americans which were published in Outing Magazine under the collective title of The Indian in His Solitude. The series presented a marked contrast to Wyeth’s more "action-packed" pictures derived from western stories. While several of the other paintings in the series reflect in their subdued palettes the vogue for tonalism, In the Crystal Depths, with its stark contrast between light and dark is pure Wyeth. This is not an ethnographic portrait, but a romanticized concept of pre-settler civilizations.

The series was so popular that Outing printed various sized reproductions of the Solitude paintings and sold some in deluxe boxed editions. The Japanese maker Noritake reproduced In the Crystal Depths on china between 1911-1918.