Hendrik Hudson (with map of the Hudson River)

Artist:

N.C. Wyeth

(American, 1882 - 1945)

Hendrik Hudson (with map of the Hudson River)

Medium: Charcoal and gouache on heavy paper
Date: 1926
Dimensions:
46 7/8 × 27 5/8 in. (119.1 × 70.2 cm)

Brandywine Museum of Art, Bequest of Carolyn Wyeth, 1996

Accession number: 96.1.520
Research Number: NCW: 2077
Inscribedwithin image along bottom: HENDRIK HUDSON; in ink on reverse in artist's hand: If lost / Please notify / N. C. Wyeth / Chadds Ford / Pa-------
ProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. N. C. Wyeth; Carolyn Wyeth
Exhibition HistoryWilmington, DE, 1928(3), no. 99; Yonkers, NY, Hudson River Museum, "Dutch New York: The Roots of Hudson Valley Culture," June 13, 2009 - Jan. 10, 2010, illus. p. 412;
References Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), M.30, p. 611
Curatorial RemarksThe association of this image with the Hotel Roosevelt decorations comes from the exhibition pamphlet of the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, 1928(3), in which number 99 is described as "Hendrik Hudson. Sketch for Mural Map for Hotel Roosevelt, New York". When the piece was received at the Brandywine River Museum in 1995, the pamphlet was adhered to a cardboard backing.
While the painting has not been located, the design was seemingly executed in oil. See a letter in which the artist wrote "Hendrich (sic) Hudson is done and is one of the best canvases I ever did" (NCW to Andrew Newell Wyeth, Nov. 12, 1926, Wyeth Family Archives). Also, the painting is mentioned in a letter written by Henriette Wyeth to her grandfather, Andrew Newell Wyeth, dated Nov. 24, 1926 (AAA, reel 5125), "The two portraits of Stuyvesant and Hendrik Hudson were enthusiastically received at "the Roosevelt"--they were simply splendid, grogeous things, they are sure to be enjoyed and appreciated by all."
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Photography directly from artwork
Photo Credit:Rick Echelmeyer, 2008