Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Slag charged with the momentum of an avalanche across the shed; and Hulda, watching, thought he must sweep Eben back into the flaming stack.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1918
Dimensions:
dimensions unavailable
known by reproduction only (canvas reused for NCW 931)
Accession number: SUPP2000.357
Research Number: NCW: 357
InscribedLower left: N. C. WYETH (from illustration)
ProvenanceSee NCW 931
References
Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1972), p. 258; Joyce Hill Stoner, "Discovering Hidden Wyeths," Winterthur Magazine (Spring 2000), illus. p. 26; George Lowery, "N. C. Wyeth's Coloring Technique...," July 19, 2007, CornellonLine, http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/July07/chessWyethAnalysis.html; Jennifer Mass, "Discovery to Recovery: A Lost Illustration by N. C. Wyeth," Catalyst (pub. of Brandywine River Museum), vol. 35, no. 4 (November 2007), p. 7; Jennifer Mass, et al., "Confocal XRF and XRF Intensity Mapping of Paintings: Characterizing and Imaging a Lost N. C. Wyeth," presented at the 57th Annual Conference on Applications of X-Ray Analysis, Denver, CO, Aug. 4-8, 2008; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.730, p. 375; Jennifer Mass, "Confocal XRF and XRF Intensity Mapping: Imaging a Lost N. C. Wyeth," presented to American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, Aug. 19, 2009; Tom Avril, "X-ray techs give us back a Wyeth," Philadelphia Inquirer, August 20, 2009, pgs. 1 and A10
Curatorial RemarksIn July 2007 the painting was studied by a group of conservation scientists at Cornell University. Using confocal X-ray flourescence, the pigments of the under image were analyzed, proving that although reproduced in black and white, the canvas was painted in color.
By August 2009, the team under conservation scientist Jennifer Mass had constructed an image of the painting's original appearance. The reconstructed coloration is consistent with the palette used by Wyeth for the other illustration in the series.
By August 2009, the team under conservation scientist Jennifer Mass had constructed an image of the painting's original appearance. The reconstructed coloration is consistent with the palette used by Wyeth for the other illustration in the series.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:1. Reconstructed image, using confocal XRF and XRF intensity mapping; 2. Digital scan from tear sheet (Brandywine River Museum library); 3. X-radiograph showing image beneath Family mural study (NCW 931)
Photo Credit:1. Courtesy of Jennifer Mass, Winterthur Museum; 2. Web: BRM staff; Publication: Rick Echelmeyer, digital photography, 7/11/2006; 3. Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, 1997