Artist:
N.C. Wyeth
(American, 1882 - 1945)
Popular Magazine, cover illustration
Alternate Title(s):Naval Engagement
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1922
Dimensions:
30 1/4 × 44 1/4 in. (76.8 × 112.4 cm)
Private collection
(Popular Magazine is the property of Conde Nast.)
Accession number: SUPP2000.1098
Research Number: NCW: 1098
ProvenanceThe artist to 1936; Horatio Moss, New York, NY, 1936; (?); Private collection, Palm Beach, FL, by 1949, and signed "PYLE"; (?); (Graham Gallery, New York, NY, 1969, recognized as work by N. C. Wyeth); Private collection, Miami, FL, to 1979; (Phillips, New York, NY, Oct. 27, 1979, lot no. 141); (Illustration House, Norwalk, CT); Private collection, 1983-2008; (Sotheby's, New York, NY, May 22, 2008, lot no. 97);
Exhibition HistoryFt. Lauderdale, FL, Fort Lauderdale Museum of the Arts, "The Great American Illustrators", May 18 - June 27, 1976
References
Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 270; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.935, p. 447
Curatorial RemarksThe artist loaned this painting to Horatio Moss of New York in 1936, believing that Moss could sell it or the reproduction rights. With no success, Wyeth requested the return of the painting in 1938 for an upcoming exhibition (NCW to Horatio Moss, Oct. 17, 1938, Wyeth Family Archives). According to Andrew Wyeth the painting was never returned; it appeared next in 1949 in a Palm Beach, FL, collection with the signature "PYLE" (Dean Cornwell to Carolyn Bockius Wyeth, Jan. 21, 1949, Brandywine River Museum, CR project files). The painting had been applied to hardboard, trimmed of a few inches along the bottom edge, and enlarged horizontally with the addition of two strips of canvas at either side, alterations consistent with the artist's practices.
Image Source for printed Catalogue Raisonne:1. Photography directly from painting; 2. Digital scan of Popluar Magazine cover, showing original appearance of painting
Photo Credit:1. Web: Brandywine River Museum, N. C. Wyeth CR files; Publication: Rick Echelmeyer, digital photography from printed source, 7/11/2006; 2. BRM staff