Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Zirngiebel House, Needham -- Heavy Snow
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: ca. 1922
Dimensions:
40 × 44 in. (101.6 × 111.8 cm)
Brandywine Museum of Art, Bequest of Carolyn Wyeth, 1996
Accession number: 96.1.57
Label Copy:
This painting depicts the Joshua Lewis House (built 1776) in Needham, Massachusetts. It is an impressionist "portrait" of a building that played an important role in the artist’s life. Wyeth’s grandfather, Denys Zirngiebel, lived in this house until his death in 1905; in 1921, Wyeth purchased the property from his uncle John Denys Zirngiebel and his family lived there until November, 1923. A Dec. 19, 1921, letter to Sidney M. Chase (Wyeth Family Archives) contains a pencil drawing of this exact view of the house. The Wyeth Family Archives also includes a black and white photograph of the house after a snowstorm from the same vantage point, which clearly relates to the painting and suggests Wyeth used the photograph as a resource.
The present title is purely descriptive, and no archival material has come to light to suggest what title—if any—the artist may have given the work. Andrew Wyeth recalled that his father painted this picture during the time the N. C. Wyeth family lived in Needham, hence the dating. In the late 1920s Wyeth completed another view of the same house in a style reminiscent of Charles Burchfield’s work.
This painting depicts the Joshua Lewis House (built 1776) in Needham, Massachusetts. It is an impressionist "portrait" of a building that played an important role in the artist’s life. Wyeth’s grandfather, Denys Zirngiebel, lived in this house until his death in 1905; in 1921, Wyeth purchased the property from his uncle John Denys Zirngiebel and his family lived there until November, 1923. A Dec. 19, 1921, letter to Sidney M. Chase (Wyeth Family Archives) contains a pencil drawing of this exact view of the house. The Wyeth Family Archives also includes a black and white photograph of the house after a snowstorm from the same vantage point, which clearly relates to the painting and suggests Wyeth used the photograph as a resource.
The present title is purely descriptive, and no archival material has come to light to suggest what title—if any—the artist may have given the work. Andrew Wyeth recalled that his father painted this picture during the time the N. C. Wyeth family lived in Needham, hence the dating. In the late 1920s Wyeth completed another view of the same house in a style reminiscent of Charles Burchfield’s work.
Research Number: NCW: 900
InscribedNo marks
ProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. N. C. Wyeth; Carolyn Wyeth
References
Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, Catalogue Raisonne of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), L.138, p. 745
Curatorial RemarksThis painting was among a group of paintings from the artist's studio that were photographed in 1969; at that time the painting was unstretched and had a large area of abrasion in the lower right corner. The present title is purely descriptive. No archival material dates the work, however Andrew Wyeth recalled that his father painted this picture during the time the N. C. Wyeth family lived in Needham. The Wyeth Family Archives includes a black and white photograph of the house after a snowstorm from the same vantage point, which clearly relates to the painting. NCW 953 is another later view of the same house.
The artist's grandfather lived in this house until his death in 1905. N. C. Wyeth purchased the property, known as the Joshua Lewis House (built 1776), from his uncle John Denys Zirngiebel in 1921 and he and his family lived there until November, 1923. A Dec. 19, 1921, letter to Sidney M. Chase (WFA) contains a pencil drawing of this exact view of the house.
The painting was reframed in 2008, with a hand-carved and silver-gilt frame made by the P. H. Miller Studio in Woodbury, CT. The frame's design is reminiscent of frames made by Frank A. Coll, a Wilmington, DE, framemaker patronized by N. C. Wyeth.
The artist's grandfather lived in this house until his death in 1905. N. C. Wyeth purchased the property, known as the Joshua Lewis House (built 1776), from his uncle John Denys Zirngiebel in 1921 and he and his family lived there until November, 1923. A Dec. 19, 1921, letter to Sidney M. Chase (WFA) contains a pencil drawing of this exact view of the house.
The painting was reframed in 2008, with a hand-carved and silver-gilt frame made by the P. H. Miller Studio in Woodbury, CT. The frame's design is reminiscent of frames made by Frank A. Coll, a Wilmington, DE, framemaker patronized by N. C. Wyeth.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Rick Echelmeyer, April 2002