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American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists
|
- Sale 2105
Live
| Philadelphia
Dec 8 | 2:00 PM EST
Live
| Philadelphia
Sale 2105
| Philadelphia
| Philadelphia
Estimate$120,000 – $180,000
Provenance:
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1916-1923.
Julian Pearce Smith (Scribner's editor), Upper Montclair, NJ.
Private Collection, New Jersey.
Literature:
Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1972), p. 219.
Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (London: Scala, 2008), I.607, p. 322.
Accessible on the Brandywine Museum of Art's online Catalogue Raisonné at https://collections.brandywine.org/ncwcr, no. NCW: 1164.
Lot Essay:
N. C. Wyeth's illustrations for Robert Louis Stevenson's The Black Arrow bring to life the tumult of the Wars of the Roses, a period of English history marked by political intrigue and bloody conflict. A particularly striking example is the present lot, "Now, mark me, mine host...," in which cunning, ruthless antagonist, Sir Daniel Brackley, issues a sinister command to the keeper of the Sign of the Sun inn in Kettley, where the former had been dispatched to quell "opposition from the tenants" there. Wyeth's illustration captures the tension and menace of the moment, as offered by Stevenson:
"By two in the morning, Sir Daniel sat in the inn room, close by the fireside, for it was cold at that hour among the fens of Kettley. By his elbow stood a pottle of spiced ale. He had taken off his visored headpiece, and sat with his bald head and thin, dark visage resting on one hand, wrapped warmly in a sanguine-coloured cloak. At the lower end of the room about a dozen of his men stood sentry over the door or lay asleep on benches; and somewhat nearer hand, a young lad, apparently of twelve or thirteen, was stretched in a mantle on the floor. The host of the Sun stood before the great man."
Wyeth underscores the moral ambiguity of the story and the near-constant threat of violence that hangs over its characters. Sir Daniel's words, "Now, mark me, mine host," issued with chilling authority, are animated by Wyeth's pointed manipulation of light and shadow. The innkeeper, a seemingly ordinary man caught in the crossfire of a larger conflict, is, here, transformed into a figure of both vulnerability and potential defiance (relative to Brackley's rent-collecting manipulations). Wyeth, across the balance of his Black Arrow contributions, offers a suitable–and suitably dramatic–analogue to Stevenson's themes of loyalty and betrayal, justice and revenge, and the corrupting influence of power.
To request further details about this lot, please email [email protected]
Adam Veil
VP, Head of Department, American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists
The wax-lined canvas in overall good condition, with a shiny varnish throughout. The paint has been applied very thinly, except in the harsh where the impasto is rich. Examination under UV light reveals meticulous inpainting along the four outer edges of the canvas, sometimes extending slightly into the composition (the floor at bottom center for example), with very careful inpainting at upper center, around and near the candle (not on the candle itself), especially in it radiating light and above on the chimney. While we notice minuscule inpainting on parts of the figure (right figure's apron, feet and elbow), the faces are untouched and both present well. With some remnants of old inscriptions verso. Additional images available upon request.
Framed: 43 1/2 x 35 1/2 x 1 in.
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Please email [email protected] for any additional information or questions you may have regarding this lot.
