Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
The War Letter
Medium: Tempera and oil on hardboard (Renaissance Panel)
Date: 1944
Dimensions:
37 × 46 in. (94 × 116.8 cm)
Brandywine Museum of Art, Purchased in memory of Deo du Pont Weymouth and Tyler Weymouth, 1981
Accession number: 81.19
Label Copy:
This painting depicts Wyeth's parents on their Needham, Massachusetts, property, with the Charles River in the background. The artist first created the scene in oil on canvas in 1932 and titled the painting Spring-1918 (96.1.33). He based his compelling portrait on memories and family letters dating from World War I, especially the dark moments when the elder Wyeths worried about their sons who served abroad. The twisted tree trunks and barren ground evoke a war-ravaged land.
The subject retained its powerful hold over him and in 1944, as World War II raged, he redid the composition in tempera with only minor changes. Although the painting still carried rich personal meaning, Wyeth emphasized the universality of the experience in his title for the tempera version, The War Letter.
This painting depicts Wyeth's parents on their Needham, Massachusetts, property, with the Charles River in the background. The artist first created the scene in oil on canvas in 1932 and titled the painting Spring-1918 (96.1.33). He based his compelling portrait on memories and family letters dating from World War I, especially the dark moments when the elder Wyeths worried about their sons who served abroad. The twisted tree trunks and barren ground evoke a war-ravaged land.
The subject retained its powerful hold over him and in 1944, as World War II raged, he redid the composition in tempera with only minor changes. Although the painting still carried rich personal meaning, Wyeth emphasized the universality of the experience in his title for the tempera version, The War Letter.
Research Number: NCW: 53
InscribedOn reverse of panel in upper right: N. C. WYETH / 1944; Adhered to reverse of panel, Renaissance Panel label, no. 1194, dated 7/19/43; written on the label: EGG-TEMPERA / VARNISHED WITH / DAMAR - N. C. W. / PAINTED 1944; two identical labels adhered to bottom member of frame: Painting in the United States, 1944 / Oct. 12-Dec. 10 1944 / Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh; label adhered to frame member: PORTRAIT OF AMERICA / Artists for Victory, Inc. / Exhibition and Prize Competition / of Contemporary American Paintings / SPONSORED BY PEPSI-COLA COMPANY / [in NCW's hand] N. C. WYETH / CHADDS FORD, PA. / WAR LETTER/ N. C. W. / CHADDS FORD, PA; incised in top member of frame: F. Coll, Wilmington, Del.
ProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. N. C. Wyeth; Carolyn Wyeth
Exhibition HistoryPittsburgh, PA, 1944, no. 82, illus. b/w plate 84 (see installation photo, BRM Archives); (possibly Portrait of America Exhibition and Competition, sponsored by Pepsi-Cola); Washington, DC, 1946, no. 1; Chadds Ford, PA, 1972, no. 137; Princeton, NJ, 1977, no. 11; Chadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum, "A Time to Mourn," 17 Jan.-17 May 1981 (Chadds Ford venue only); Chadds Ford, PA, 1982, no. 47, illus. b/w p. 37; Rockland, ME, 2000, illus. in color, p. x (painting is incorrectly dated 1941); Chadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum of Art, June 22-Sept. 15, 2019 (and Portland, ME, Portland Museum of Art, Oct. 4, 2019-Jan. 12, 2020, and Cincinnati, OH, Taft Museum, Feb. 8-May 3, 2020), "N. C. Wyeth: New Perspectives," illus. p. 198-199
References
Ernest W. Watson, "N. C. Wyeth / Giant on a Hilltop," American Artist, vol. 9, no. 1 (Jan. 1945), ps. 18-19; Richard Layton, "Inventory of Paintings in the Wyeth Studio, 1950, " unpublished, Wyeth Family Archives, p. 91; Brandywine River Museum, Catalogue of the Collection, 1969-1989 (Chadds Ford, PA: Brandywine Conservancy, 1991), p. 215, illus. b/w; David Michaelis, N. C. Wyeth, A Biography (New York: Knopf, 1998), ps. 378-379, illus. in color after p. 372 and erroneously dated 1941; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, Catalogue Raisonne of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), P.60, p. 828; Toby Thompson, "Perspective: N. C. Wyeth (1882-1945)," Western Art and Architecture, vol. 8, no. 6 (Dec. 2014/Jan. 2015), illus. in color, p. 99; Peter Ker, "The Complicated Legacy of N. C. Wyeth," PMA Magazine (Portland, ME: Portland Museum of Art), Fall 2019, illus. p. 21;
Curatorial RemarksThis is an image of Wyeth's parents on their Needham, Massachusetts, property (see Watson, American Artist). The artist first painted the scene in oil in 1932, calling it Spring-1918 (NCW 143, Brandywine River Museum of Art, 96.1.33). He based his compelling portrait on memories and family letters dating from World War I. Ten years later the subject retained its powerful hold over him and he produced another version of the painting in tempera, making only minor pictorial changes. Although the painting still carried a rich personal meaning, Wyeth emphasized the universality of the image in his title for the tempera version, The War Letter.
By November 1943, this painting was framed and photographed. (see archival photograph stamped EDW. J. S. SEAL / CHADDS FORD, PA. / NOV. 22 1943, Brandywine River Museum of Art library # 3401). On February 9, 1944, the artist wrote to his son Andrew, "I put the preliminary varnish on the panel of my mother and father. It certainly "flashed it up" in great shape but makes me feel that a few adjustments in oil are necessary."
The painting retains its original frame, carved by Frank Coll (1884-1969) of Wilmington, Delaware.
By November 1943, this painting was framed and photographed. (see archival photograph stamped EDW. J. S. SEAL / CHADDS FORD, PA. / NOV. 22 1943, Brandywine River Museum of Art library # 3401). On February 9, 1944, the artist wrote to his son Andrew, "I put the preliminary varnish on the panel of my mother and father. It certainly "flashed it up" in great shape but makes me feel that a few adjustments in oil are necessary."
The painting retains its original frame, carved by Frank Coll (1884-1969) of Wilmington, Delaware.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:No credit on transparency