Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
title unknown (Chadds Ford landscape; exhibited as The Brook)
Alternate Title(s):Brook; Howard Pyle's Farm at Chadds Ford
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: ca. 1909 / 1910
Dimensions:
24 3/16 × 26 1/8 in. (61.4 × 66.4 cm)
Private collection
Accession number: SUPP2000.68
Research Number: NCW: 68
InscribedLower left: N. C. WYETH (underlined) / 10; on reverse on stretcher: NO. 4 / (illegible two digit number circled--possibly 63).
ProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. N. C. Wyeth, to October, 1968; (Knoedler Galleries, New York, NY, Oct. 1968); Horace W. Gordon, Villanova, PA, 1969; Mr. H. Richard Dietrich, Jr., 1969 - 2007;
Exhibition Historypossibly Philadelphia, PA, 1912, no. 2, as "The Brook"; New York, NY, 1957, no. 22, as "Brook"; Chadds Ford, PA, 1992; Chadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum, "N. C. Wyeth and The Philadelphia Sketch Club," March 20 - May 23, 2010;
References
Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, Catalogue Raisonne of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), L.40, p. 713
Curatorial RemarksThe Wyeth Family Archives includes a photograph of this painting and NCW 1278 on an easel filed between letters dated Aug. 15 and Aug. 23, 1909. There is no indication in the letters, however, that the photo was enclosed in either of them. The painting used to be called "Howard Pyle's Farm at Chadds Ford" but Howard Pyle did not have a farm in Chadds Ford. The building in the center distance may be Pyle's barn, a favorite motif of the artist, owned by a family unrelated to Howard Pyle.
The lettering on the reverse of one of the stretchers ("NO.4") matches the style of inscriptions that are found on all paintings included in Sketch Club of Philadelphia exhibition (1912). Many of the numbers on the backs of the paintings are one or two numbers off from the catalogue numbers, suggesting last minute changes.
The painting may have been received at Knoedler's in 1956 under the number 54843, part of a large group of N. C. Wyeth paintings delivered by Andrew Wyeth. Knoedler's records confirm it was in the 1957 exhibition (New York, NY, 1957). Knoedler's lists refer to the painting as "Brook," which might reference a no-longer extant (or visible) inscription on the reverse applied before the Philadelphia, PA, 1912 exhibition. Under the stock number CA 7905, it was consigned by Mrs. N. C. Wyeth to Knoedler's in Oct. 1968.
The lettering on the reverse of one of the stretchers ("NO.4") matches the style of inscriptions that are found on all paintings included in Sketch Club of Philadelphia exhibition (1912). Many of the numbers on the backs of the paintings are one or two numbers off from the catalogue numbers, suggesting last minute changes.
The painting may have been received at Knoedler's in 1956 under the number 54843, part of a large group of N. C. Wyeth paintings delivered by Andrew Wyeth. Knoedler's records confirm it was in the 1957 exhibition (New York, NY, 1957). Knoedler's lists refer to the painting as "Brook," which might reference a no-longer extant (or visible) inscription on the reverse applied before the Philadelphia, PA, 1912 exhibition. Under the stock number CA 7905, it was consigned by Mrs. N. C. Wyeth to Knoedler's in Oct. 1968.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:1. transparency directly from painting; 2. Archival photo showing painting and NCW 1278 on easel in 1908-1911 studio; 3. digital photograph from painting
Photo Credit:1. Brandywine River Museum file photo; 2. photographer unknown, possibly N. C. Wyeth, Wyeth Family Archives; 3. Courtesy of Richard Dietrich