Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Treasure Island, title page illustration
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1911
Dimensions:
42 3/8 × 36 7/8 in. (107.6 × 93.7 cm)
Rare Book Division, The New York Public Library
Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations
Accession number: SUPP2000.1248
Research Number: NCW: 1248
InscribedLower right: N. C. WYETH (underlined) / 1911
ProvenanceCharles Scribner's Sons, New York, NY; purchased by New York Public Library, 1916
Exhibition HistoryHarrisburg, PA, 1965, no. 73; Chadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum, "N. C. Wyeth's Treasure Island: Classic Illustrations for a Classic Tale," Sept. 10- Nov. 20, 2011
References
Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 218; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.331, p. 219
Curatorial RemarksThis painting and three others were the result of the tremendous effort Wyeth made during the first two weeks of April, 1911. "Not until this morning did I realize just how much I had accomplished; but when I started to pack my work of two weeks," he wrote to his family, "it dawned upon me to complete four huge pictures in two weeks was going some! Well, I did, and I am proud of them…Yes, the cover design, the decoration for the book lining, the title page and one illustration. These had to be hustled through in order that Scribner's could get out a "dummy" book for their salesmen" (NCW to "Folks All," dated by NCW April 17, 1911, Wyeth Family Archives).
The artist noted in a letter that he was present when "ten of my originals (were) installed permanently, in the children's reading room of the New York Public Library on Fifth Ave" (NCW to Andrew Newell Wyeth, dated in another hand Feb. 26, 1916, Wyeth Family Archives).
The artist noted in a letter that he was present when "ten of my originals (were) installed permanently, in the children's reading room of the New York Public Library on Fifth Ave" (NCW to Andrew Newell Wyeth, dated in another hand Feb. 26, 1916, Wyeth Family Archives).
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:Digital photography directly from painting
Photo Credit:Paul Mutino Photography, 7/25/2006