GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Best known for his vivid and exciting illustrations of American literary classics, N. C. Wyeth worked for the last several years of his life on a series of easel paintings exploring the quiet beauty of the country around his summer home in Port Clyde, Maine. Around the same time as he began working on this rural landscape, Wyeth learned tempera painting techniques from his son-in-law, Peter Hurd (1904-1984). He began relying on tempera's subtle color effects and layered application rather than his earlier fondness for oil paint or watercolor. Wyeth completed The Hupper Farm in oils and then used tempera to add finishing touches. It may be this fortuitous combination of paint types that gives The Hupper Farm a glowing, animate quality, reflecting Wyeth's spiritual ties to the coastal region he frequented for over three decades.
Emily Schiller, Digital Collections Content Coordinator, 2015.
NOTES
This note was tagged #routed in June 2015 and Sue's revisions (in a Word doc created by ASG) have been applied to the note as of October 2015. As of January 2017 I am adding the #draft tag to this note so that it is harvested to Google Drive. Once I am sure that all pending TMS or Piction data entry is complete, I will remove the #routed tag, add the #complete tag, and move the Google Doc to Queta's folder so that it is not re-routed to Sue.
The Brandywine Museum's online catalogue raisonné for N.C. Wyeth gives slightly different information for this work than the metadata currently in TMS record. I revised the date (to 1938) and medium (to oil paint, egg tempera on hardboard) based on the catalogue raisonné and email correspondence found in the object file. I did not include "Renaissance panel" as part of the medium, though the catalogue raisonné does.
Sue Canterbury comment on the online content draft, July 6, 2015: Emily, have you confirmed media and support with Mark Leonard? Might be worthwhile to be sure. Also, he might be able to confirm or not whether the term "Renaissance Panel" would apply. Or is it simply a brand?
I entered provenance, exhibition history, and published resources based on the catalogue raisonné.
I added two "former titles" according to the exhibition history in the catalogue raisonné.
The catalogue raisonné states that in addition to the artist's signature on the lower right, the reverse contains Renaissance Panel label of F. Weber Company, no. 646, prepared 3/18/38, with THE HUPPER FARM-MAINE written along edge in ink; scratched into surface of reverse of panel: Marshall Farm; inscribed on reverse of panel in various places: S2846 / #8 / 4 3/4-X532 - N (circled) / 51 50 / 3084 (circled).
Research materials suggest that N.C. Wyeth was ill during the summer of 1938 and completed paintings based on his Maine sketches when he returned to Chadds Ford.
There are many more bibliographic and published reference resources available in the object file and the Mayer Library artist file. These do not currently appear in the TMS record. In addition, it would be helpful if the library artist file was cross-referenced (or duplicated) in the primary object file and indicated in the TMS record in some way.
[General Description-- Rewritten from current label to incorporate new information.]
Removed TMS object tag because rule exists.
Best known for his vivid and exciting illustrations of American literary classics, N. C. Wyeth worked, for the last several years of his life, on a series of easel paintings exploring the quiet beauty of the country around his home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The change in subject matter corresponds to a change in medium, in which Wyeth forsook the richness of oils for the luminosity of egg tempera. The combination of egg yolk and pure pigment, built up in translucent layers, gives "The Hupper Farm" the quality of a glowing, animate place, reflecting Wyeth's spiritual ties to the country in which he had spent his life.
This text appears in Public Notes, Extended Text and Curatorial Remarks. I deleted it from Curatorial Remarks since it was triplicated. There is not author or date listed with the text but the audit trail shows that it was added to the TMS record in August 2002. I had not recorded this information in the citation for my general description because the majority of the description was newly written for this draft.
Although this note is tagged %exhibitions pending as of January 2017, I do not see what information was intended to be added to exhibitions, so I am removing the tag so that this content can proceed online.
Catalogue essays specific to object
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Produced- Port Clyde, Maine
Depicted- Port Clyde, Maine
Process/materials
oil paint
hardboard
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
painting
farmhouse
grass
road
trees
wagon
farm wagon
dusk
window
shadow
red
blue
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until at least 1957: Mrs. N.C. Wyeth (with Knoedler Galleries, New York, NY)
n.d.: Grand Central Galleries, New York, NY [1]
Before 1960: C.R. Smith, New York, NY
From 1960: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of C.R. Smith [2]
[1] This constituent is listed in the provenance taken from the Brandywine River Museum catalogue raisonne online. No dates are provided.
[2] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- N.C. Wyeth in Maine~Read this biographical essay adapted from Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth in Maine, A Centenary Exhibition (Rockland, ME: Farnsworth Art Museum, 1982).
- N.C. Wyeth Catalogue Raisonné~Check out the most complete list of the artist's work, hosted by The Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
Mayer Library, artist file- contains exhibition and published materials, multiple magazine reviews. Some of these resources would be great to scan, but were not published by the DMA. It would be beneficial to have the artist file cross-referenced (or duplicated) in the registrar's object file.
FUN FACTS
- Wyeth named his Maine residence "Eight Bells" after Winslow Homer's famed image of two fisherman working amidst a frothy, gray sea (Eight Bells, 1886, Addison Gallery of American Art).
- The Hupper Farm was included in N.C. Wyeth's first one-man exhibition at Macbeth Galleries in December 1939 and then sent to the National Academy of Design's membership committee (made up of leading artists) in March 1940. A friend wrote to Wyeth to congratulate his acceptance as an associate member of the National Academy and included an anecdote about the committee's reaction to The Hupper Farm, "It seems a lot of very poor stuff was presented [to the committee], and yours was the last one to be put on the easel. As a token of appreciation that the artists felt for something good, they broke into applause when yours was exhibited,-- the only one, as I understand it, that received an ovation." (Robert W. Macbeth to N.C. Wyeth, dated April 11, 1940, Wyeth Family Archives.)
- In his review of Wyeth's first one-man show at Macbeth Galleries in December 1939, art critic Royal Cortissoz was particularly struck by the artist's use of color and line. Cortissoz recommended the exhibition saying, "It is evident in all his pictures that he has a sense of color. His blues are particularly rich and strong. But it is his precision that ultimately makes his work attractive...The seasoned illustrator in him counts to good purpose. He uses a disciplined line. But he makes a good picture. I must signalize one or two more impressive instances such as the shadowy Marshall Farm [the previous title for the painting now known as The Hupper Farm]." (Royal Cortissoz, "N.C. Wyeth," New York Herald Tribune (December 10, 1939) section 6, page 8.)
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1960.69
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
Best known for his vivid and exciting illustrations of American literary classics, N. C. Wyeth worked for the last several years of his life on a series of easel paintings exploring the quiet beauty of the country around his summer home in Port Clyde, Maine. Around the same time as he began working on this rural landscape, Wyeth learned tempera painting techniques from his son-in-law, Peter Hurd (1904-1984). He began relying on tempera's subtle color effects and layered application rather than his earlier fondness for oil paint or watercolor. Wyeth completed The Hupper Farm in oils and then used tempera to add finishing touches. It may be this fortuitous combination of paint types that gives The Hupper Farm a glowing, animate quality, reflecting Wyeth's spiritual ties to the coastal region he frequented for over three decades.
Emily Schiller, Digital Collections Content Coordinator, 2015.
Fun Facts
- Wyeth named his Maine residence "Eight Bells" after Winslow Homer's famed image of two fisherman working amidst a frothy, gray sea (Eight Bells, 1886, Addison Gallery of American Art).
- The Hupper Farm was included in N.C. Wyeth's first one-man exhibition at Macbeth Galleries in December 1939 and then sent to the National Academy of Design's membership committee (made up of leading artists) in March 1940. A friend wrote to Wyeth to congratulate his acceptance as an associate member of the National Academy and included an anecdote about the committee's reaction to The Hupper Farm, "It seems a lot of very poor stuff was presented [to the committee], and yours was the last one to be put on the easel. As a token of appreciation that the artists felt for something good, they broke into applause when yours was exhibited,-- the only one, as I understand it, that received an ovation." (Robert W. Macbeth to N.C. Wyeth, dated April 11, 1940, Wyeth Family Archives.)
- In his review of Wyeth's first one-man show at Macbeth Galleries in December 1939, art critic Royal Cortissoz was particularly struck by the artist's use of color and line. Cortissoz recommended the exhibition saying, "It is evident in all his pictures that he has a sense of color. His blues are particularly rich and strong. But it is his precision that ultimately makes his work attractive...The seasoned illustrator in him counts to good purpose. He uses a disciplined line. But he makes a good picture. I must signalize one or two more impressive instances such as the shadowy Marshall Farm [the previous title for the painting now known as The Hupper Farm]." (Royal Cortissoz, "N.C. Wyeth," New York Herald Tribune (December 10, 1939) section 6, page 8.)
Archival Resources
Mayer Library, artist file- contains exhibition and published materials, multiple magazine reviews. Some of these resources would be great to scan, but were not published by the DMA. It would be beneficial to have the artist file cross-referenced (or duplicated) in the registrar's object file.
Web Resources
- N.C. Wyeth in Maine~Read this biographical essay adapted from Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth in Maine, A Centenary Exhibition (Rockland, ME: Farnsworth Art Museum, 1982).
- N.C. Wyeth Catalogue Raisonné~Check out the most complete list of the artist's work, hosted by The Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art.
Notes
This note was tagged #routed in June 2015 and Sue's revisions (in a Word doc created by ASG) have been applied to the note as of October 2015. As of January 2017 I am adding the #draft tag to this note so that it is harvested to Google Drive. Once I am sure that all pending TMS or Piction data entry is complete, I will remove the #routed tag, add the #complete tag, and move the Google Doc to Queta's folder so that it is not re-routed to Sue.
The Brandywine Museum's online catalogue raisonné for N.C. Wyeth gives slightly different information for this work than the metadata currently in TMS record. I revised the date (to 1938) and medium (to oil paint, egg tempera on hardboard) based on the catalogue raisonné and email correspondence found in the object file. I did not include "Renaissance panel" as part of the medium, though the catalogue raisonné does.
Sue Canterbury comment on the online content draft, July 6, 2015: Emily, have you confirmed media and support with Mark Leonard? Might be worthwhile to be sure. Also, he might be able to confirm or not whether the term "Renaissance Panel" would apply. Or is it simply a brand?
I entered provenance, exhibition history, and published resources based on the catalogue raisonné.
I added two "former titles" according to the exhibition history in the catalogue raisonné.
The catalogue raisonné states that in addition to the artist's signature on the lower right, the reverse contains Renaissance Panel label of F. Weber Company, no. 646, prepared 3/18/38, with THE HUPPER FARM-MAINE written along edge in ink; scratched into surface of reverse of panel: Marshall Farm; inscribed on reverse of panel in various places: S2846 / #8 / 4 3/4-X532 - N (circled) / 51 50 / 3084 (circled).
Research materials suggest that N.C. Wyeth was ill during the summer of 1938 and completed paintings based on his Maine sketches when he returned to Chadds Ford.
There are many more bibliographic and published reference resources available in the object file and the Mayer Library artist file. These do not currently appear in the TMS record. In addition, it would be helpful if the library artist file was cross-referenced (or duplicated) in the primary object file and indicated in the TMS record in some way.
[General Description-- Rewritten from current label to incorporate new information.]
Removed TMS object tag because rule exists.
Best known for his vivid and exciting illustrations of American literary classics, N. C. Wyeth worked, for the last several years of his life, on a series of easel paintings exploring the quiet beauty of the country around his home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The change in subject matter corresponds to a change in medium, in which Wyeth forsook the richness of oils for the luminosity of egg tempera. The combination of egg yolk and pure pigment, built up in translucent layers, gives "The Hupper Farm" the quality of a glowing, animate place, reflecting Wyeth's spiritual ties to the country in which he had spent his life.
This text appears in Public Notes, Extended Text and Curatorial Remarks. I deleted it from Curatorial Remarks since it was triplicated. There is not author or date listed with the text but the audit trail shows that it was added to the TMS record in August 2002. I had not recorded this information in the citation for my general description because the majority of the description was newly written for this draft.
Although this note is tagged %exhibitions pending as of January 2017, I do not see what information was intended to be added to exhibitions, so I am removing the tag so that this content can proceed online.
Catalogue essays specific to object
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Produced- Port Clyde, Maine
Depicted- Port Clyde, Maine
Process/materials
oil paint
hardboard
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
painting
farmhouse
grass
road
trees
wagon
farm wagon
dusk
window
shadow
red
blue
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until at least 1957: Mrs. N.C. Wyeth (with Knoedler Galleries, New York, NY)
n.d.: Grand Central Galleries, New York, NY [1]
Before 1960: C.R. Smith, New York, NY
From 1960: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of C.R. Smith [2]
[1] This constituent is listed in the provenance taken from the Brandywine River Museum catalogue raisonne online. No dates are provided.
[2] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1960.69
source file
object_notes_3_c-0026.xml.nores