N. C. Wyeth (1882-1945)Treasure Island, endpaper illustration1911Oil on canvas, 32 3/4 x 47 1/8 in. (83.1 x 119.6 cm)Brandywine River Museum Purchased in memory of Hope Montgomery Scott, 1997
NCW NUMBER
152
TITLE
Treasure Island, endpaper illustration
MEDIUM
Oil on canvas
INSCRIPTION(S), LABEL(S)
None
SUBJECT
illustration
DATE
1911
PROVENANCE
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, NY, sold through Scribner's retail store; [?]; private collection, PA; [?]; Collection of John Edward Dell; (Somerville / Manning Gallery, Greenville, DE)
EXHIBITION HISTORY
Chadds Ford, PA, 1972, no. 52; 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's Treasure Island: Classic Illustrations for a Classic Tale," Sept. 10- Nov. 20, 2011
INITIAL USE
Endpaper illustration, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1911)
REFERENCES
Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1972), p. 218; David Michaelis, N. C. Wyeth A Biography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998), color illustration after p. 116; John Edward Dell, ed., Visions of Adventure, N. C. Wyeth and the Brandywine Artists, (New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2000), detail in color on pages preceeding frontispiece and color illustration p. 40; Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.330, p. 218-219; Michael Pitiot, Pirates (Grenoble: Editions Glénat, 2009), p. 104-105;
CURATORIAL COMMENT
This painting and three others were the result of the tremendous effort Wyeth made during the first two weeks of April, 1911. "Not until this morning did I realize just how much I had accomplished; but when I started to pack my work of two weeks," he wrote to his family, "it dawned upon me to complete four huge pictures in two weeks was going some! Well, I did, and I am proud of them Yes, the cover design, the decoration for the book lining, the title page and one illustration. These had to be hustled through in order that Scribner's could get out a "dummy" book for their salesmen" (NCW to "Folks All," dated by NCW April 17, 1911, Wyeth Family Archives).
