Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
A night herder.
Alternate Title(s):Night herding
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1905
Dimensions:
38 × 26 in. (96.5 × 66 cm)
The Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.470
Research Number: NCW: 470
InscribedLower right: N. C. WYETH / COLORADO - 1904
ProvenanceThe artist; (?); (French & Co., New York, NY); Galpin Collection to 1934; Mr. and Mrs. Howard W. Powers, Long Island, NY, 1934-1987
Exhibition HistoryChadds Ford, PA, 1990(2), color illustration p. 18, catalogue no. 9 on p. 78, also p. 75; Chadds Ford, PA, 2002(2)
References
"Wilmington Artists in the March Magazines," undated (but March 1906 by context) and unattributed article from Wilmington, DE, newspaper; Philip Ashton Rollins, The Cowboy (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1922), illus. f. p. 254, as "Night Herding"; Phillip Ashton Rollins, Jinglebob (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1930), illus. f. p. 218, as "Night Herding"; James Truslow Adams, History of the United States, vol. III (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1933), illus. at end of volume; Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), ps. 227, 236, 274 and illus. b/w p. 41; James H. Duff, The Western World of N. C. Wyeth (Cody, WY: Buffalo Bill Historical Center, 1980), p. 12; David Michaelis, N. C. Wyeth, A Biography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998), illus. b/w p. 125; Sarah E. Boehme, "N. C. Wyeth, From the Hashknife to the Palette Knife," Points West (Cody, WY: Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Fall, 2002), p. 15; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.116, p. 137
Curatorial Remarks"...to-day at 2:30 I put the finishing stroke on. A stroke that has completed by far the most successful picture I ever did. Mr. Pyle is very enthusiastic over it and proclaims it to be the "biggest" picture any of his pupils ever painted. The subject is "The Night Herder." In full moonlight on the plains with the immense sleeping herd in the middle distance. Finished it in exactly 12 hours" (NCW to Carolyn B. Bockius, Aug. 6, 1905, Wyeth Family Archives). The inscription below the signature references Wyeth's inspiration, his Oct. 1904 trip to Colorado. Another inspiration might have been Remington's circa 1888 image, The Herd at Night, which had been published several times in Century Magazine.
"Wilmington Artists in the March Magazines," an undated (but March 1906 by context) and unattributed article from a Wilmington, DE, newspaper, states that "The full-page illustrations in color are in his best style and their originals have been sold to a New York collector."
"Wilmington Artists in the March Magazines," an undated (but March 1906 by context) and unattributed article from a Wilmington, DE, newspaper, states that "The full-page illustrations in color are in his best style and their originals have been sold to a New York collector."
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:transparency directly from painting
Photo Credit:Brandywine River Museum photo files