Editor's note: The
following text was reprinted in Resource Library on April 29, 2010
with permission of the Brandywine River Museum. If you have questions or
comments regarding the text, please contact the Brandywine River Museum
directly through either this phone number or web address:
N. C. Wyeth and the Philadelphia
Sketch Club
March 20 - May 23, 2010
The Brandywine River
Museum was invited to participate in a year-long, area-wide celebration
marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Philadelphia Sketch
Club. As possible exhibition subjects were considered, we realized that
N. C. Wyeth was the link between the Museum's collection and Sketch Club
history.
The Philadelphia Sketch Club was formed in 1860 by six
artists who had studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The
six felt they needed a "sketching club" to improve their skills
in design and illustration, and soon life drawing classes were offered.
Membership grew and included painters, printmakers, sculptors, and architects.
By 1894, the Sketch Club had over 400 members who maintained an ambitious
exhibition program and social calendar. Thomas Anshutz, Howard Chandler
Christy, Thomas Eakins, A. B. Frost, Daniel Garber, Thomas Moran, Joseph
Pennell, and Edward Redfield were among the members over the ensuing years.
N. C. Wyeth joined the Sketch Club in 1911 and in November
1912, the Club presented a one-man exhibition of his work. Wyeth selected
ten of his recent illustrations, including three pictures from Treasure
Island, and about two dozen landscapes. It was his first one-man show*
and the first time he exhibited the landscape studies that had occupied
him for the preceding four/five years.
N. C. Wyeth and the Philadelphia Sketch Club brings together and examines some of the paintings in Wyeth's
Sketch Club exhibition.
The Landscapes
N. C. Wyeth moved permanently to Chadds Ford in 1908, and
there began to work seriously on his landscape painting abilities. The impetus
came from several sources. Even as his fame as an illustrator grew, Wyeth
felt the sting of the term "illustrator," and he saw his foray
into landscape work as a step to building a reputation as an "artist."
He also was completely captivated by the local scenery and would remain
so for the rest of his life. He felt he could only paint the landscape if
he knew his surroundings thoroughly and intimately through constant study.
No longer controversial or "foreign" by this
time, impressionist styles dominated American landscape painting and were
kept in the forefront of popular art by members of "The Ten."
It was logical then that Wyeth should begin with impressionist views. He
adopted the well-recognized techniques of impressionist painting-eschewing
hard outlines, sharply defined forms, and intense shadows, while concentrating
on natural light effects and color arrangement, even in conditions such
as rain, snow, and haze. His brushwork was loose, and he avoided grays and
blacks. He seems to have taken the "plein air" aspect of impressionism
to heart, for his letters document that he worked outdoors, even in the
winter. He chose about two dozen landscapes for the exhibition-from research
it would seem that they were all small (20 x 24, or 26 x 24, for example)
and all impressionist studies.
Wyeth's correspondence from the period is sprinkled with
comments about many of the well-known American impressionists-Benson, DeCamp,
Hassam, Metcalf, Reid Tarbell, Twachtman, and Weir-but none of them seems
to have been of particular influence for any major length of time, and eventually
all came in for his criticism.
The Illustrations
The ten illustrations Wyeth included in the Sketch Club
exhibition were drawn from recent work. Visitors would have recognized many
of the images from reproductions in popular books or leading magazines.
Interestingly, Bill Bones and Old Pew were on display concurrently
at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts during the 10th Annual Philadelphia
Water Color Exhibition.
Criticism and After
The exhibition was mentioned in many of the Philadelphia
and Wilmington newspapers, generally in favorable, if occasionally insipid,
remarks equally divided between the landscapes and the illustrations. A
critic writing in The Philadelphia Inquirer, however, condemned the
landscapes as the work of an unsure craftsman and indifferent colorist,
and used the selection of illustrations as an opportunity to write against
the perceived tendency of all American illustrators to slavishly imitate
Howard Pyle. This particular review affected Wyeth deeply.
During the teens, when most of his income was derived from
illustration work, Wyeth maintained the styles of those illustrations in
the Sketch Club exhibition. But he quickly lost interest in rendering the
landscape in impressionist styles. By the late teens he dismissed the work
of most major American impressionists as "ephemeral, mere whispering
sweetness." Ultimately, N. C. Wyeth was too interested in man's relationship
with his natural surroundings to continue painting pure landscapes; he was
too robust an artist, his personality too "virile" (a word he
loved to use) to paint in impressionist styles for long. He was also too
much of a realist. After the Sketch Club exhibition, Wyeth became interested
in the work of the Swiss-Italian painter Segantini, and throughout the teens
his major landscapes, such as Newborn Calf (1917), drew on Segantini's
form of "divisionism." Later in his career Wyeth, master of many
styles, produced seascapes in the lush romantic style of Winslow Homer as
well as photo-realistic depictions of the Brandywine countryside.
The present exhibition includes paintings that were in
the Sketch Club exhibition, or paintings that are similar to those that
were shown. Identifying which landscapes were in the exhibition was a challenge,
and there is more material in the gallery that explains the research.
*Note: "One-man show," a common term in today's
art vocabulary, was used at the time of Wyeth's Sketch Club exhibition.
Several of the newspaper reviews called the exhibition a one-man show, and
Wyeth himself used the term in a letter to his family.
- -- by Christine Podmaniczky, Associate Curator, N.C.
Wyeth Collections
-

(above: N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945), Chadds Ford Landscape-July
1909, 1909, Oil on canvas. Collection of the Brandywine River Museum.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Wyeth)
Case and object label text from the exhibition
-
- Case Labels
-
- 11. Early Summer
-
- Although the painting pictured above historically has
been known as "Stimson in the Garden," it is the only known painting
that fits the description given in a newspaper review for the work titled
Early Summer - "tender greens and brown upturned earth with
a man plowing in the middle distance." However, there are no marks
on the reverse to confirm the earlier title.
-
-
- 12. Gray Day
-
- This painting still carries the title on the reverse.
A favorite of the artist, it was prominently displayed during the 1910s
in the Wyeth home. It is privately owned and unavailable for exhibition.
-
-
- 13. Harvey's Run
-
- This painting carries the title and exhibition number
on the reverse. Joseph H. Chapin, art editor at Scribner's, took an interest
in the Sketch Club exhibition, and Wyeth gave this painting to him in 1913.
It is privately owned and unavailable for exhibition.
-
-
- 24. The Wounded Dispatch Bearer
-
- The title is sufficient to identify the painting as an
illustration for Sally Castleton, Southerner, a story that appeared
in the June 1912 issue of Everybody's Magazine. One critic wrote
that the painting is a "striking example of the vigor and power of
what is practically a new school of illustrative art." It is privately
owned and unavailable for exhibition.
-
-
- 25. The Hayload
-
- A black and white photograph of this painting accompanied
a review of the exhibition published in The Philadelphia Inquirer,
Nov. 5, 1912. Originally, the image was painted for the cover of the August
1912 issue of Popular Magazine. It is privately owned and unavailable
for exhibition.
-
-
- 26. The Confederate
-
- There are no clues to help identify this image. In the
few years before the Sketch Club exhibition, Wyeth illustrated several
Civil War stories, and the nebulous title could apply to any number of
paintings.
-
-
- 31. Huns
-
- This title could apply to either of two paintings Wyeth
completed prior to the Sketch Club exhibition, both illustrations for a
story by Arthur Conan Doyle. Fortunately, a remark in a review published
in The [Wilmington, Delaware] Morning News, Nov. 20, 1912,
described Huns in enough detail to distinguish it from the alternative
work. The painting is known by reproduction only.
-
-
- 32. Sloppy Weather and High Spirits
-
- This painting is likely the companion to the painting
numbered 30, "Rainy Sunday in Camp." Both were published in the
January 1912 issue of Scribner's Magazine. Scribner's presented
the painting to Dr. John Lovejoy Elliott, founder of Hudson Guild, a New
York City community organization, and it has since disappeared.
-
-
-
- Object Labels
-
- Title unknown (Chadds Ford landscape with brook)
- Oil on canvas, circa 1910
- Collection of Mark and Sally Poulsen
-
- This painting is marked on the reverse: "(illegible)PRING
/ NO. (illegible, possibly a 3, 6 or 8)." Spring Sunlight,
number 3 in the Sketch Club exhibition list, is probably the original title.
-
-
- The Village
- Oil on canvas, circa 1910/1911
- Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Walter J. Winther
-
- This painting is clearly marked on the reverse: "THE
VILLAGE / NO. V." The artist depicted the view from the house he rented
between April 1908 and March 1911, looking down to the village of Chadds
Ford.
-
-
- Rocky Hill
- Oil on canvas, circa 1911/1912
- Permanent Collection
- Bequest of Carolyn Wyeth, 1996
-
- This painting is marked on the reverse: "ROCKY HILL
/ No. 6." The view was painted on the artist's Chadds Ford property
which he acquired in March 1911.
-
- The frame was found in the N. C. Wyeth studio in 1995.
Photographs of the Wyeth living room taken between 1910 and 1920 show that
it is similar to the frames the artist used on the landscapes from this
period.
-
-
- Boulders
- Oil on canvas, circa 1911/1912
- Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Frank E. Fowler
-
- This painting is marked on one stretcher: "# 9 the
Boulders" and on another "No. 7 BOULDERS." "Boulders"
is number 6 in the printed catalogue.
-
-
- Henriette in the Orchard
- Oil on canvas, circa 1909 / 1910
- Permanent Collection
- Gift of Ruth A. Yerion, 1980
-
- Historically, this painting was known in the Wyeth family
as Henriette in the Orchard, and there is no evidence it was included
in the Sketch Club exhibition. It is very similar, however, in composition
and technique to number 12, Gray Day, which could not be borrowed
for this exhibition.
-
-
- February
- Oil on canvas, circa 1911/1912
- Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection
-
- This painting is marked on the reverse: "FEBRUARY
/ NO. 10." The village of Chadds Ford is seen from a site along Creek
Road, looking south past the John Chad house with the barn below that no
longer exists.
-
-
- Sultry Day
- Oil on canvas, circa 1909/1910
-
- Collection of Keith D. Stoltz
- This painting is marked on the reverse, "A Sultry
Day," making it number 9 in the exhibition. In the mid-distance is
the barn adjacent to the property Wyeth rented from April 1908 to March
1911, with the village of Chadds Ford in the distance.
-
-
- The Meadow
- Oil on canvas, circa 1909/1911
- Private Collection
-
- Photo documentation attached to the reverse shows that
this painting was marked originally "The Meadow," making it number
14 in the Sketch Club exhibition.
-
-
- Autumn
- Oil on canvas, circa 1910/1912
- Private Collection
-
- This painting is marked on the reverse: "Autumn
12."
-
-
- Summer Sky
- Oil on canvas, circa 1911/1912
- Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Jamie Wyeth
-
- This painting is marked on the reverse: "SUMMER
SKY 19." In the course of conservation treatment in 2005, an x-radiograph
of the canvas revealed shadowy lines that indicate Wyeth may have painted
over another image. The x-radiograph was not clear enough to identify the
underpainting, but the size of the canvas suggests the original work may
have been one of the head- or tailpieces for The Pike County Ballads,
a group of paintings Wyeth is known to have painted over.
-
-
- Title unknown (view of Chadds Ford)
- Oil on canvas, circa 1908/1911
-
- Private Collection
- Old conservation treatment has obscured the inscriptions
on the reverse. While the style of writing and notation seem to match that
of the other paintings for the Sketch Club exhibition, the exact reference
to title and catalogue number is almost illegible. There is a trace of
"RNOON / NO." which suggests the painting may have been exhibited
at the Sketch Club as Hazy Afternoon.
-
- This was the artist's view looking toward Chadds Ford
from the property he rented between April 1908 and March 1911.
-
-
- Forsythe's Hill
- Oil on canvas, 1912
- Collection of Thomas B. T. Baldwin
-
- This painting is marked on the reverse, "FORSYTHES
HILL 23," although in the catalogue it was listed as number 21, Forsyth's
Hill. Wyeth painted Forsythe's Hill, on the western side of the Brandywine
and north of Route 1, several other times in the mid-1910s.
-
-
- The Brook
- Oil on canvas, 1910
- Estate of H. Richard Dietrich, Jr.
-
- This painting is marked "NO. 4" on the reverse
in the same style as the other paintings in the Sketch Club exhibition,
but further markings are illegible. The painting was sent to a New York
gallery in the late 1950s as "The Brook," which may mean that
the title was clearly marked on the stretcher at one time.
-
-
- Chadds Ford Landscape - July 1909
- Oil on canvas, 1909
- Permanent Collection
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Wyeth, 1970
-
- It is not certain that this painting was included in
the Sketch Club exhibition, but its date and quality suggest it was probably
number 7, Summer. Techniques used during an early 1970s restoration
obscured any markings on the reverse, but the painting has a history of
being called Chadds Ford Summer.
-
-
- At the same moment the door behind Radcliffe crashed
open and a dozen men crowded in, rifles in hand.
- Oil on canvas, 1912
- Collection of the Guest Family
-
- This painting was number 23 in the Sketch Club exhibition
and called The Invaders. It had been published in Everybody's
Magazine (July 1912) as in illustration for Crittenden Marriott's serialized
story Sally Castleton, Southerner. It was the most popular painting
in the exhibition among critics writing in the Philadelphia newspapers.
-
-
- I was kept busy all day in the cave, packing the minted
money into bread-bags
- Oil on canvas, 1911
- Rare Book Division, The New York Public Library
- Astor, Lennox and Tilden Foundations
-
- This painting was No. 27 in the exhibition and called
The Treasure Cave. Wyeth's paintings for Treasure Island
were immensely popular wherever they were exhibited and another two, Captain
Bill Bones and Old Pew, were on display at the same time in
the 10th Annual Philadelphia Water Color Exhibition at the Pennsylvania
Academy of the Fine Arts.
-
-
- To me he was unweariedly kind; and always glad to
see me in the galley
- Oil on canvas, 1911
- Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection
-
- This painting was number 28 in the exhibition, and called
John Silver and Hawkins in Galley.
-
-
- One last tremendous cut which would certainly have
split him to the chin[e] had it not been intercepted by our big signboard
of Admiral Benbow
- Oil on canvas, 1911
- Permanent Collection
- Bequest of Ann Wyeth McCoy, 2006
-
- This painting was number 29, Captain Bones Routs Blackdog.
Of this Treasure Island illustration a critic for the Philadelphia
Ledger wrote, "The spectator can all but hear the savage swish
of Captain Bones' sword as he grits his teeth and whacks at Blackdog."
-
-
- There fell a long silence through which O'Hara read
and Kenyon kept watch at the window.
- Oil on canvas, 1911
- Collection of Deborah Kittredge Irving
-
- Undoubtedly this painting was displayed at the Sketch
Club as number 30, Rainy Sunday in Camp. Many of the exhibition's
visitors would have recalled seeing it reproduced in the January 1912 issue
of Scribner's Magazine. It illustrated a story which took place
in a Canadian transcontinental railroad camp on a rainy Sunday. The frame
is an example of the type used by the artist to protect the edges of the
canvas during shipping.
-
-
- Exhibition of Landscapes and Original Illustrations
by N. C. Wyeth
- November 1912
- Enlargement of exhibition brochure
- (Original, Brandywine River Museum Library)
-
- This brochure lists the paintings originally intended
for Wyeth's Sketch Club exhibition. (There were some late changes to the
list.) The reproductions in the case depict some of the paintings not included
in the present exhibition at the Brandywine River Museum.
-
-
- March
- Oil on canvas, 1912
- Private Collection
-
- Since 1957, this painting has been known as "N.
C. Wyeth's House." Recent conservation treatment and examination revealed
the wording "No. 12 March" on the reverse, identifying the painting
as the one the artist titled March in the Sketch Club exhibition.
Resource Library editor's
note
The above text was reprinted in Resource Library
on April 29, 2010 with permission of the Brandywine River Museum, granted
to TFAO on April 26, 2010. Resource Library wishes to extend appreciation to Lora Englehart of the Brandywine
River Museum for her help concerning permissions for reprinting the above
text.
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