N. C. Wyeth (1882-1945)All day he hung round the cove, or upon the cliffs, with a brass telescope1911Oil on canvas, 47 1/4 x 38 1/4 in. (120 x 97.1cm)Collection of Brandywine River MuseumBequest of Gertrude Haskell Britton, 1992
NCW NUMBER
16
TITLE
All day he hung round the cove, or upon the cliffs, with a brass telescope
ALTERNATE TITLE(S)
Bill Bones on the Cliff; Captain Bill Bones; Captain Bones
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, NY; Coburn Haskell, Cleveland, OH; Gertrude Haskell (Mrs. Brigham) Britton, Cleveland, OH, 1948-1992
EXHIBITION HISTORY
Philadelphia, PA, 1912(2), no. 166, b/w illus. (unpaginated), as "Captain Bones"; Rockland, ME, 1966, no. 18, as "Bill Bones on the Cliff"; Chadds Ford, PA, 1971, no. 61, as "Captain Bill Bones"; Chadds Ford, PA, 1972, no. 53, as "Captain Bill Bones"; Chadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum, "N. C. Wyeth and His Grandson: A Legacy," Jan. 24 - March 29, 1998 (Chadds Ford venue only of Chicago, IL, 1997 and not included in checklist); Rockland, ME, 1998, no. 63 p. 164, color illus. p. 63; Chadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum, "N. C. Wyeth's Treasure Island: Classic Illustrations for a Classic Tale," Sept. 10- Nov. 20, 2011
INITIAL USE
Color illustration f. p. 4, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1911)
REFERENCES
___, "Art and Artists," The Philadelphia Press, Nov. 17, 1912, p. 10 (Sporting Section), illus. b/w (AAA microfilm, roll P55); John Lewis, The Twentieth Century Book, Its Illustration and Design (New York: Reinhold Publishing Corp, 1967and 2nd edition, 1984), illus. p. 204; Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972), p. 218, color illus. p. 78; Susan E. Meyer, "N. C. Wyeth," American Artist Magazine, vol. 39, no. 391 (Feb. 1975), b/w illus. p. 40; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.332, p. 219; Jason Williams, "Competing Visions: The Alternate Wests of Elinor Pruitt Stewart and N. C. Wyeth," pub. in Western American Literature, vol. 44, no. 4 (Winter 2010), p. 374-375;
CURATORIAL COMMENT
Just after the opening of the 10th Annual Water Color Exhibition of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, an anonymous reviewer in the Philadelphia Press wrote "N. C. Wyeth's big figures "Captain Bones" and "Old Pew" of Stevenson's immortal Treasure Island have the punch that hits the attention of every visitor, no matter how much of a "skimmer" he may be."
In 1971, the Brandywine River Museum issued a reproduction of this painting which was sold until the stock ran out. The image area of that poster is 29 3/4 x 24 inches. The following information was published below the image: c 1971 Brandywine River Museum--All rights reserved / Published under the auspices of the Brandywine River Museum of the Tri-County Conservancy of the Brandywine, INc. / Printed in U.S.A. by Triton Press Inc., New York City / N. C. Wyeth / Captain Bill Bones from Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson Scribner's Illustrated Classics 1911 (Medium: Oil on canvas 50 x 40 inches) Collection of Mrs. Brigham Britton.
