N. C. Wyeth (1882-1945)To me he was unweariedly kind; and always glad to see me in the galley1911Oil on canvas, 47 x 38 in. (119.3 x 96.5 cm)Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection
NCW NUMBER
18
TITLE
To me he was unweariedly kind; and always glad to see me in the galley
ALTERNATE TITLE(S)
In the Galley; In the Galley with Long John Silver; John Silver and Hawkins in Galley; Long John Silver and Hawkins
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, NY; William Bradhurst Osgood Field, New York, NY, May 1913 - ?; [?]; Diamond M Foundation, by 1957 through 1965
EXHIBITION HISTORY
Boston, MA, 1912, no. 2 as "Long John Silver and Hawkins"; Philadelphia, PA, 1912(1), no. 28 as "John Silver and Hawkins in Galley"; Lubbock, TX, 1959, no. 31; Dallas, TX, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, "Famous Families in American Art," Oct. 8 - Nov. 20, 1960, no. 76, illus. in b/w (unpaginated); Harrisburg, PA, 1965, no. 78; Rockland, ME, 1966, no. 22; Chadds Ford, PA, 1971, no. 63; Chadds Ford, PA, 1972, no. 57; Greenville, SC, 1974, no. 26 as "In the Galley with Long John Silver"; Chadds Ford, PA, 1976(1); Chadds Ford, PA, 1985; Chadds Ford, PA, 1987(2), no. 15, illus. in color p. 101; Chadds Ford, PA, 1990(1); 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); Chadds Ford, PA, Brandywine River Museum, "N. C. Wyeth and The Philadelphia Sketch Club," March 20 - May 23, 2010; 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. 76, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1911)
REFERENCES
"Wyeth Paintings Shown in Philadelphia," (Wilmington, DE) Morning News, Nov. 20, 1912, p. 8; Ellen Wilson, "The Books We Got for Christmas," American Heritage Magazine, vol. VIII, no. I (Dec. 1956), color illus. p. 35; "The Stouthearted Heroes of a Beloved Painter," Life, vol. 43, no. 24 (Dec. 9, 1957), color illus. p. 97; Henry C. Pitz, "N. C. Wyeth," American Heritage Magazine, vol. XVI, no. 6 (October 1965), color illus. p. 42; Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1972), p. 218, color illus. p. 10; Alexander Nemerov, "N. C. Wyeth's Theater of Illustration," American Art Magazine, vol. 6, no. 2 (Spring 1992), b/w illus. p. 52; David Michaelis, N. C. Wyeth A Biography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998), color illus. after p. 116; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.336, p. 224, 226
CURATORIAL COMMENT
According to the (Wilmington, DE) Morning News, Nov. 20, 1912 (p. 8), this painting was purchased during the 1912 Philadelphia Sketch Club exhibition. However, Scribner's records identify "B. O. Field, 645 5th Ave., NY" as the purchaser on May 22, 1913. This was William Bradhurst Osgood Field (1870-1949), prominent in New York and Lenox, Mass. society, an avid book collector, and collector of drawings for book illustrations.
A similar version of the parrot in the cage occurs in an illustration by fellow Pyle student and friend Clifford Ashley, published in the Dec. 1909 issue of Scribner's Magazine.
