Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

. He was the pupil of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 paintings and illustrated 112 books — 25 of them for ''

Scribner's Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

'', the Scribner Classics, which is the body of work for which he is best known. The first of these, '' Treasure Island'', was one of his masterpieces and the proceeds paid for his studio. Wyeth was a realist painter at a time when the camera and photography began to compete with his craft. Sometimes seen as melodramatic, his illustrations were designed to be understood quickly. Wyeth, who was both a painter and an illustrator, understood the difference, and said in 1908, "Painting and illustration cannot be mixed—one cannot merge from one into the other." He is the father of

Andrew Wyeth Andrew Newell Wyeth ( ; July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009) was an American visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century. In his ...

and the grandfather of Jamie Wyeth, both also well-known American painters.

Early life

Wyeth was born in 1882, in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

to parents Andrew Newell Wyeth II and Henriette Zirngiebel Wyeth. An ancestor, Nicholas Wyeth, a stonemason, came to Massachusetts from England in 1645. Later ancestors were prominent participants in the French and Indian Wars, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War, passing down rich oral histories and tradition to Wyeth and his family and providing subject matter for his art, which was deeply felt. His maternal ancestors came from Switzerland, and during her childhood, his mother was acquainted with literary giants

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural su ...

and

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

. His literary appreciation and artistic talents appear to have come from her. He was the oldest of four brothers who spent much time hunting, fishing, and enjoying other outdoor pursuits, and doing chores on their farm. His varied youthful activities and his naturally astute sense of observation later aided the authenticity of his illustrations and obviated the need for models: "When I paint a figure on horseback, a man plowing, or a woman buffeted by the wind, I have an acute sense of the muscle strain." His mother encouraged his early inclination toward art. Wyeth was doing excellent watercolor paintings by the age of twelve. He went to Mechanics Arts School to learn drafting, and then Massachusetts Normal Art School, now Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where painting instructor Richard Andrew advised him to become an illustrator, and then the

Eric Pape Frederic L. Pape (October 17, 1870 – November 7, 1938), known as Eric Pape, was an American painter, engraver, sculptor, and illustrator. Early life Pape was born in San Francisco, California, on October 17, 1870 to Friederich Ludwig and ...

School of Art to learn illustration, under

George Loftus Noyes George Loftus Noyes (1864–1954) was a Canadian born artist who gained fame in the early 20th century as an American Impressionist. Noyes was born in Bothwell, Ontario and died in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Noyes' parents were both Ameri ...

and

Charles W. Reed Charles Wellington Reed (1841 – 1926) was an American soldier who fought with the Union Army in the American Civil War. Reed received his country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for actions taken on July 2, 1863 du ...

Career

Wyeth traveled to the Brandywine Valley to study with Howard Pyle, eventually settling in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. A bucking bronco for the cover of ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'' on February 21, 1903, was Wyeth's first commission as an illustrator. That year he described his work as "true, solid American subjects—nothing foreign about them". It was a spectacular accomplishment for the twenty-year-old Wyeth, after just a few months under Pyle's tutelage. In 1904, the same magazine commissioned him to illustrate a Western story, and Pyle urged Wyeth to go West to acquire direct knowledge, much as Zane Grey had done for his Western novels. In Colorado, he worked as a cowboy alongside the professional "punchers", moving cattle and doing ranch chores. He visited the

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

in Arizona and New Mexico and gained an understanding of aboriginal American culture. When his money was stolen, he worked as a mail carrier, riding between the Two Grey Hills, New Mexico trading post and Fort Defiance, Arizona, to earn enough to get back home. He wrote home, "The life is wonderful, strange—the fascination of it clutches me like some unseen animal—it seems to whisper, 'Come back, you belong here, this is your real home.'" On a second trip two years later, he collected information on mining and brought home costumes and artifacts, including cowboy and aboriginal American clothing. His early trips to the western United States inspired a period of images of

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

s and

aboriginal Americans The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

that dramatized the Old West. Upon returning to Chadds Ford, he painted a series of farm scenes for ''

'', finding the landscape less dramatic than that of the West but nonetheless a rich environment for his art: "Everything lies in its subtleties, everything is so gentle and simple, so unaffected." His painting ''Mowing'' (1907), not done for illustration, was among his most successful images of rural life. In 1906, Wyeth had married Carolyn Brenneman Bockius of Wilmington. In 1908 they moved to Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, along the Brandywine Creek. The Wyeths created a stimulating household for their talented children

, Henriette Wyeth Hurd,

Carolyn Wyeth Carolyn Wyeth ( ; 1909–1994), daughter of N.C. Wyeth and sister of Andrew Wyeth, was a well-known artist in her own right. Her hometown was Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. She worked and taught out of N. C. Wyeth House and Studio. Her nephew, Jamie ...

, Ann Wyeth McCoy, and Nathaniel C. Wyeth. Wyeth was very sociable, and frequent visitors included F. Scott Fitzgerald,

Joseph Hergesheimer Joseph Hergesheimer (February 15, 1880 – April 25, 1954) was an American writer of the early 20th century known for his naturalistic novels of decadent life amongst the very wealthy. Early life Hergesheimer was born on February 15, 1880 Phil ...

, Hugh Walpole,

Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893February 27, 1993) was an American actress, director, and screenwriter. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was called the "First Lady of American Cinema", ...

, and John Gilbert. According to Andrew, who spent the most time with his father due to his sickly childhood, Wyeth was a strict but patient father who did not talk down to his children. His hard work as an illustrator gave his family the financial freedom to follow their own artistic and scientific pursuits. Andrew went on to become one of the foremost American painters of the second half of the 20th century, and both Henriette and Carolyn became painters also; Ann became a painter and composer. Nathaniel became an engineer for

DuPont DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...

and worked on the team that invented the plastic soda bottle. Henriette and Ann married two of Wyeth's protégés,

Peter Hurd Peter Hurd (February 22, 1904 – July 9, 1984) was an American painter whose work is strongly associated with the people and landscapes of San Patricio, New Mexico, where he lived from the 1930s. He is equally acclaimed for his portraits and hi ...

and John W. McCoy. Wyeth is the grandfather of painters Jamie Wyeth and Michael Hurd, and the musician

Howard Wyeth Howard Pyle Wyeth (April 22, 1944 – March 27, 1996), also known as Howie Wyeth, was an American drummer and pianist. Wyeth is remembered for work with the saxophonist James Moody, the rockabilly singer Robert Gordon, the electric guitarist Lin ...

. By 1911, Wyeth began to move away from Western subjects and on to illustrating classic literature. He painted a series for an edition of '' Treasure Island'' (1911), by

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

, thought by many to be his finest group of illustrations. The set made him famous, and the proceeds from this great success paid for his house and studio. He also illustrated editions of ''

Kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...

'' (1913), '' Robin Hood'' (1917), ''

The Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is a historical romance written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826. It is the second book of the '' Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfinde ...

'' (1919), '' Robinson Crusoe'' (1920), '' Rip Van Winkle'' (1921), ''

The White Company ''The White Company'' is a historical adventure by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, set during the Hundred Years' War. The story is set in England, France and Spain, in the years 1366 and 1367, against the background of the campaign of Edward ...

'' (1922), and '' The Yearling'' (1939). He did work for prominent periodicals, including ''

Century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

'', '' Harper's Monthly'', ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...

'', '' McClure's'', ''

Outing Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBT person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia in order to discredit political opponents or to com ...

'', ''

The Popular Magazine ''The Popular Magazine'' was an early American literary magazine that ran for 612 issues from November 1903 to October 1931. It featured short fiction, novellas, serialized larger works, and even entire short novels. The magazine's subject matter ...

'', and

. By 1914, Wyeth loathed the commercialism upon which he became dependent, and for the rest of his life he battled internally over his capitulation, accusing himself of having "bitched myself with the accursed success in skin-deep pictures and illustrations". He complained of money men "who want to buy me piecemeal" and that "an illustration must be made practical, not only in its dramatic statement, but it must be a thing that will adapt itself to the engravers' and printers' limitations. This fact alone kills that underlying inspiration to create thought. Instead of expressing that inner feeling, you express the outward thought… or imitation of that feeling." Wyeth also did posters, calendars, and advertisements for clients such as Lucky Strike, Cream of Wheat, and

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

, as well as paintings of Beethoven, Wagner, and Liszt for

Steinway & Sons Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to ...

. He painted murals of historical and allegorical subjects for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Westtown School, the First National Bank of Boston, the Hotel Roosevelt, the Franklin Savings Bank, the National Geographic Society, the Wilmington Savings Fund Society, and other public and private buildings. During both World Wars, he contributed patriotic images to government and private agencies. Wyeth was a member of

The Franklin Inn Club The Franklin Inn Club is a private social club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1902 as a literary society, it is one of the four historic gentlemen's clubs in Philadelphia's Center City and was the first to open membership to women in P ...

in Philadelphia. Self-portrait by N

His nonillustrative portrait and landscape paintings changed dramatically in style throughout his life as he experimented first with impressionism in the 1910s (feeling an affinity with the nearby "New Hope Group"), the principles of the divisionist painter

Giovanni Segantini Giovanni Segantini (15 January 1858 – 28 September 1899) was an Italian painter known for his large pastoral landscapes of the Alps. He was one of the most famous artists in Europe in the late 19th century, and his paintings were collected by ...

, then by the 1930s veering to the realistic American regionalism of Thomas Hart Benton and

Grant Wood Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891 February 12, 1942) was an American painter and representative of Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for '' American Gothic'' (193 ...

, painting with thin oils and, occasionally, egg tempera. That was the medium favored by his son Andrew, and introduced to both of them by his son-in-law Peter Hurd. Wyeth worked rapidly and experimented constantly, often working on a larger scale than necessary, befitting his energetic and grand vision which often harked back to his ancestral past. He could conceive, sketch and paint a large painting in as little as three hours.

Death and legacy

In June 1945, he had received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

. Wyeth was a member of the National Academy, the Society of Illustrators, the Philadelphia Water Color Club, the Fellowship of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Philadelphia Art Alliance, the Chester County Art Association, and the

Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts The Delaware Art Museum is an art museum located on the Kentmere Parkway in Wilmington, Delaware, which holds a collection of more than 12,000 objects. The museum was founded in 1912 as the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts in honor of the artis ...

. In October 1945, Wyeth and his grandson (Nathaniel C. Wyeth's son) were killed when the automobile they were riding in was struck by a freight train at a railway crossing (39.870747°, −75.576979°) near his Chadds Ford home. At the time, Wyeth had been working on an ambitious series of murals for the

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, wi ...

depicting the Pilgrims at Plymouth, a series completed by Andrew Wyeth and John McCoy. Significant public collections of Wyeth's work are on display at the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, in Maine at the Portland Museum of Art, and at the

Farnsworth Art Museum The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, United States, is an art museum that specializes in American art. Its permanent collection includes works by such artists as Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Sully, Thomas Eakins, Eastman Johnson, Fitz Henry Lan ...

in Rockland, Maine. The Brandywine River Museum offers tours of the

N. C. Wyeth House and Studio The N. C. Wyeth House and Studio is a historic house museum and artist's studio on Murphy Road in Chadds Ford Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Beginning with its construction in 1911, it served as the principal home and studio of artist N ...

in Chadds Ford. His home and studio were designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1997, and are open to the public. His studio is set up just as he left it — the palette he used on the day of his death sits by his last canvas.

Bibliography

* Stevenson, R. L. - ''Treasure Island'' (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1911) * Stevenson, R. L. - ''Kidnapped'' (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1913) * Clemens, S. - ''The Mysterious Stranger'' (Harper, 1916) * Stevenson, R. L. - ''The Black Arrow'' (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1916) * Creswick, P. - ''Robin Hood'' (David McKay, Philadelphia, 1917) * Verne, J. - ''The Mysterious Island'' (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1918) * Cooper, J. F. - ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1919) * Malory, T. - ''The Boy's King Arthur'' (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1920) * Kingsley, C. - ''Westward Ho!'' (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1920) * Defoe, D. - ''Robinson Crusoe'' (Cosmopolitan Book Corp., 1920) * Irving, W. - ''Rip Van Winkle'' (David McKay, Philadelphia, 1921) * Longfellow, H. W. - ''The Courtship of Miles Standish (''Harrap, 1921) * MacSpadden, J.W. & Wilson, C. - ''Robin Hood'' (Harrap, 1921) * Porter, J. - ''The Scottish Chiefs'' (Hodder, 1921) * Doyle, A. C. - ''The White Company'' (Cosmopolitan Book Corp. 1922) * Matthews, J. B. - ''Poems of American Patriotism'' (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1922) * Bullfinch, T. - ''Legends of Charlemagne'' (David McKay, Philadelphia, 1924) * Stevenson, R. L. - ''David Balfour'' (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1924) * Cooper, J. F. - ''The Deerslayer'' (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1925) * Parkman, F. - ''The Oregon Trial'' (Little Brown, 1925) * Verne, J. - ''Michael Strogoff'' (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1927) * Boyd, J. - ''Drums (Char''les Scribner's Sons, New York, 1928) * Homer - ''The Odyssey (Hou''ghton, 1929) * Rollins, P. A. - ''Jinglebob'' (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1930) * ____ ''The Parables of Jesus (Davi''d McKay, Philadelphia, 1931) * Fox, J. W. - ''The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come'' (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1931) * Thoreau, H. D. - ''Men of Concord'' (Houghton Mifflin, 1936) * Jackson, H. M. H. - ''Ramona'' (Little Brown, 1939) * Rawlings, M. K. - ''The Yearling'' (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1939)

Other works

*''Mowing'' (1907) *''Long John Silver and Hawkins'' (1911) *''The Long Roll'' (1911) *''The Great Train Robbery'' (1912) *''Cease Firing'' (1912) *''The Sampo: A Wonder Tale of the North'' (1912) *''The Fence Builders'' (1915) *''The Mysterious Stranger'' (1916) *''The Scottish Chiefs'' (1921) by Jane Porter (originally published 1809) *''Stand and Deliver'' (1921) *''Rip Van Winkle'' (1921) *''The Giant'' (1922) *''Drums'' (1925, reissued in 1928 and 1953) a book by James Boyd with illustrations by N. C. Wyeth and *'' The Deerslayer'' (

Scribners Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

, 1925, reissued in 1929) by

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

(originally published 1841) *'' Reception to Washington on April 21, 1789, at Trenton on his way to New York to Assume the Duties of the Presidency of the United States'' (1930), a 17-foot by 12-foot painting *''Apotheosis of the Family'' (1932): a 60-foot-by-19-foot

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

including likenesses of members of the Wyeth family, located in a building in downtown

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

*''Dying Winter'' (1934) *''Men of Concord and some others as portrayed in the Journal of Henry David Thoreau'' (1936), a book edited by Francis H. Allen, with illustrations by N.C. Wyeth *''The Alchemist'' (1937) * ''They Took Their Wives with Them on Their Cruises'' (1938) *''Deep Cove Lobsterman'' (1939) *''The War Letter'' (1944) *''Nightfall'' (1945)

Gallery

File:Sat Eve Post Cover N. C. Wyeth 1905 12 09.jpg, ''

'', cover illustration, File:Reception to Washington on April 21, 1789, at Trenton on his way to New York - N. C. Wyeth, at TESU.jpg, '' Reception to Washington on April 21, 1789'' portraying

George Washington's reception at Trenton George Washington's reception at Trenton was a celebration hosted by the Ladies of Trenton social club on April 21, 1789, in Trenton, New Jersey, as George Washington, then president-elect, journeyed from his home at Mount Vernon to his first ...

, 1930 File:They Took Their Wives with Them on Their Cruises, by N.C. Wyeth, c. 1938, oil on board - Peabody Essex Museum - DSC07043.jpg, ''They Took Their Wives with Them on Their Cruises'', File:Uncle sam war bonds.jpg, ''Fighting Uncle Sam'', 1942 US Treasury poster

Notes

External links

Victoria Browning Wyeth discusses her family's art on ''Conversations from Penn State''

* ttp://www.bpib.com/illustrat/wyeth.htm N. C. Wyeth Biography
''Bronco Buster''
Cream of Wheat advertisement 1906 or 1907, courtesy Minneapolis Institute of Arts

* ttps://triarte.brynmawr.edu/objects-1/info/164603 N. C. Wyeth, ''Legend of Charlemagne'', 1924, oil on canvas, from Bryn Mawr College Art and Artifact Collections
N. C. Wyeth Catalogue Raisonné
An online catalogue raisonné from the Brandywine River Museum
Illustration ''Thor's Journey with the Giant Skrymir'' c. 1920

N. C. Wyeth, ''The Alchemist'', oil on canvas, 1937
photograph of painting from the Science History Institute * *
N. C. Wyeth Book Illustrations
a
Golden Age Book Illustrations Archive
* *
The King's Henchman
' (1927), Steinway & Sons ad. ("The painting depicts a scene from the opera "The King's Henchman," which, with music by Deems Taylor and libretto by Edna St. Vincent Millay, had its premier in 1927.") {{DEFAULTSORT:Wyeth, N. C. 1882 births 1945 deaths Wyeth family People from Needham, Massachusetts American people of English descent American illustrators 20th-century American painters 20th-century male artists American male painters Artists of the American West Painters from Pennsylvania Road incident deaths in Pennsylvania Treasure Island People from Chadds Ford Township, Pennsylvania Members of the Salmagundi Club Artists from Massachusetts Burials at Birmingham-Lafayette Cemetery Railway accident deaths in the United States