1913 N.C. Wyeth Oil Painting
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GUEST:
This is a painting by N.C. Wyeth.
APPRAISER:
That's right, and as everyone knows, N.C. Wyeth is associated with the Brandywine School of illustrators in Brandywine, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia. Wyeth himself was born in Needham, Massachusetts, in 1882 and came into Wilmington, Delaware, which is near Chadds Ford, around 1902. Wyeth started his career, or gained most of his notoriety when he was doing illustrations for Scribner's Classics-- most notably, Robert Louis Stevenson's “Kidnapped” and “Treasure Island,” and he also did illustrations for magazines. And this particular piece was done for the December 13 issue of “Harper's Monthly” magazine. It was for a story called "The Lost Boy," by Henry Van Dyke. And this particular piece is called “When He Comes, He Shall Rule the World.” And you have a very interesting story to tell us on how you acquired the painting.
GUEST:
Well, allegedly, it was given to my grandfather by the artist. I'm not sure the reason he was given it, but when we went back east, back in the early '60s, my mom went to her sister, my aunt, and says, "Well, where's the painting?" And my aunt said, "Oh, that old thing? Nobody wants it, so I'm selling it." And we jumped right in the car and drove into Boston and took it out of the gallery it was being sold in, threw it in the trunk, and it's been in our family ever since.
APPRAISER:
And you've had it for how long?
GUEST:
I would say 35 years right now, at least, yeah.
APPRAISER:
Wow. Oh, that's great. Well, why don't we talk a little bit about the picture itself. First of all, it's in really terrific condition. The painting is not lined. It's in its original state. It probably needs a light cleaning. It's a little bit yellowed in the areas in the center. The whites would probably pop out if it were cleaned. It has the original frame, which is great-- that also adds to the value. And of course, it's signed "N.C. Wyeth" in the lower right. Now, have you ever had the painting evaluated?
GUEST:
Back in 1980, when my father passed away, we had to have it evaluated for the estate.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
And it was valued at $5,000 by a art dealer around where I live.
APPRAISER:
And then, I understand that you did send a photograph to the Brandywine Museum, which is in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, which has a number of Wyeths. And they gave you an evaluation, as well?
GUEST:
Yeah, they... a friend of mine went out there and was talking to them about this painting. And they said I should call in and give them some...some background on it because they classified it as a lost work of art. And they just...they wrote it up that it was valued between $30,000 and $50,000 at the time. That was '94, '93, something like that.
APPRAISER:
Well, I'm sure they were thrilled to discover that it existed and where it was. Well, the market for American illustrators has really soared in the last 10 to 15 years, and particularly for N.C. Wyeth. I think at the time they gave you the evaluation of $30,000 to $50,000, that was probably pretty near it in the early '90s. But today, if we had this at a gallery in New York City, we would be asking $250,000.
GUEST:
(chuckles) Wow. That's great.
APPRAISER:
It's a very exciting...very exciting piece.
GUEST:
That is great.
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