American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists

Provenance:

The Artist.

Carolyn Bockius Wyeth, until 1963.

Brandywine Baptist Church, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, a gift from the above, November 1963.

Exhibited:

Wilmington, Delaware, 1930(1), no. 34 (as The Girl in Naaman's House).

Literature:

Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N. C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals, New York, p. 259.

Christine B. Podmaniczky, N. C. Wyeth, A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, London, I.1109, p. 518.

Accessible on the Brandywine Museum of Art's online Catalogue Raisonné at https://collections.brandywine.org/ncwcr, no. NCW: 1194.

Lot Note:

In its 1929 monthly issues, Good Housekeeping published stories by Bruce Barton highlighting biblical children and their remarkable accomplishments. The May issue featured The Little Maid in the Captain’s House, a story about a Jewish maid who persuaded Naaman, the leprosy-ridden Syrian captain, to seek the help of the Israelite healer Elisha. Wyeth’s In Naaman’s House, the illustration concurrently commissioned by the magazine, captures this decisive moment between the captain and the little girl.

Set within the conflict between the Kingdom of Syria and its neighbor, the Kingdom of Israel, the story of Naaman is a dramatic demonstration of faith and redemption. With the unwavering support of Naaman’s wife, the captive maid compassionately advises her Syrian captor to summon the guidance of Elisha, a prophet from the enemy kingdom, after noticing the lesions on his skin. Naaman follows her advice and travels to Israel where he is greeted by Elisha’s messenger and instructed to bathe seven times in the Jordan. Initially offended that the prophet would not meet him in person and use his healing touch, he eventually complies, at his own servants’ urging, and comes out of the water rid of his affliction and full of newly found respect for his maid and her God.

According to Barton, biblical narratives “are crisp and fast moving. They leave the pictures to the reader’s imagination, and we are fortunate to have the eyes of Mr. Wyeth through which we may look and see.” Arguably, the interaction between the maid and her captor is such a dramatic, life-altering moment for both protagonists that, in that alone, it deserves to be fixed in paint. But perhaps more significantly, the scene presents a compelling shift in power and influence, which Wyeth adeptly conveys in his pictorial interpretation of the story. The girl is positioned a step down from Naaman’s chair, signifying deference. But “a glow of conviction shines in her face and compels respect for her words.” Thus, in a subtle recalibration of the power dynamic, the girl’s bravery outweighs her timidity in the face of her oppressor, while the truth she harbors transcends her fear of imparting it.

The painting, gifted by Wyeth's widow, Carolyn Bockius Wyeth, to the Brandywine Baptist Church in 1963, elucidates this tension between apparent subjugation and power. The strong line descending from the wife’s head to the girl’s gaze may suggest a sense of hierarchy, amplified by Naaman’s conspicuous frown at the center of the image. Implicitly, however, it also points to an inverted chain of command, as wisdom in fact emanates from the child and ascends to the adult seemingly in charge. Indeed, her pointed finger is assertive, her gaze is direct, and her posture is confident. The two pillars, echoed by the standing female figures, frame a seated Naaman, and convey that strength, rectitude, and unrelenting faith are the dominion of women and children. Wyeth’s symbolic use of light confirms the girl’s enormous influence, as her gaze lifts the curtain behind Naaman, letting the sunshine pour in and enlighten the room. As Barton concludes that “maturity finds it hard to believe,” Wyeth’s In Naaman’s House offers a visual celebration of childhood as the very embodiment of faith.