Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Sitter:
Carolyn Wyeth
(American, 1909 - 1994)
Portrait of Carolyn Wyeth
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1925
Dimensions:
30 × 30 1/8 in. (76.2 × 76.5 cm)
Brandywine Museum of Art, Bequest of Carolyn Wyeth, 1996
Accession number: 96.1.25
Label Copy:
A teenaged Carolyn Wyeth, the second child of N. C. Wyeth and Carolyn Bockius Wyeth, captures the viewers’ attention in this portrait by her father. The portrait, perhaps like Carolyn herself, is a study of contrasts: the brilliantly white collar beneath the shadowed face, the sharply prismatic background versus the soft curls of her hair, and the bright light to the left juxtaposed with the ominously dark foreground at the right. Like her older sister Henriette and her brother Andrew, Carolyn was a painter and the last of the family to live in the N. C. Wyeth House.
A teenaged Carolyn Wyeth, the second child of N. C. Wyeth and Carolyn Bockius Wyeth, captures the viewers’ attention in this portrait by her father. The portrait, perhaps like Carolyn herself, is a study of contrasts: the brilliantly white collar beneath the shadowed face, the sharply prismatic background versus the soft curls of her hair, and the bright light to the left juxtaposed with the ominously dark foreground at the right. Like her older sister Henriette and her brother Andrew, Carolyn was a painter and the last of the family to live in the N. C. Wyeth House.
Research Number: NCW: 125
InscribedOn reverse of canvas: 1/16" border top sides to / bottom / 14 3/4" split in / middle / green + black
ProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. N. C. Wyeth; Carolyn Wyeth
Exhibition HistoryPoss. Chadds Ford, PA, 1973(1); Chadds Ford, PA, 1982, no. 30, b/w illus. p. 48, see also p. 30; Chadds Ford, PA, 1995, no. 2, b/w illus. p. 25; Chadds Ford, PA, 1997, no numbers; Kalamazoo, MI, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, "The Wyeths, America's Artists," Jan. 15-April 17, 2011;
References
Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, Catalogue Raisonne of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), P.27, p. 810
Curatorial RemarksThe markings on the reverse of this canvas indicate that it was handled by a publisher at one time, yet no contemporary reproduction of the portrait is known. X-radiography performed by Richard C. Wolbers (University of Delware/Conservation Division, Feb. 2005) suggests the presence of an under image, however, the resulting x-radiograhs were not clear enough to positively identify the picture.
This painting was photographed in 1969, one of approximately 3 dozen paintings from the artist's studio that had been stored unstretched (Brandywine River Museum, catalogue raisonné files).
This painting was photographed in 1969, one of approximately 3 dozen paintings from the artist's studio that had been stored unstretched (Brandywine River Museum, catalogue raisonné files).
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Photography directly from painting