Lot 26
  • 26

N. C. WYETH | Bringing in the Ears (Composition Drawing)

Estimate
150,000 - 250,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • N. C. Wyeth
  • Bringing in the Ears (Composition Drawing)
  • signed and inscribed SKETCH by N.C. WYETH- (lower right)
  • charcoal on tan paper
  • 27 1/2 by 32 1/2 inches
  • (69.9 by 82.6 cm)
  • Executed in 1942.

Provenance

Minnesota Valley Canning Company, Le Sueur, Minnesota, 1942 (commissioned from the artist)
Private collection
Private collection, circa 1970 (gift from the above)
By descent to the present owner

Condition

The sheet is hinged to the support along the reverse top edge and there appears to be a natural rippling to the sheet. There are original artist pinholes and some remnants of artist's tape at extreme edges. There are creases at all corners, a few small losses along the extreme edges and a stain at the upper left corner. The surface retains scattered flecks of oil paint inherent to the artist's process.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

The present drawing is a compositional study for N.C. Wyeth's Bringing in the Ears (1942, General Mills Art Collection, Minneapolis, Minnesota), which was used in an advertisement for Niblets Corn in the August 10, 1942 edition of Life magazine. According to letters between Wyeth and his agent American Artists Company, the final painting was commissioned by Minnesota Valley Canning Company through the Leo Burnett Company, Inc. Writing on the conception of Bringing in the Ears, the scholar Christine B. Podmaniczky explains: "The client provided photographs of the trucks used by Minnesota farmers and of the corn plants themselves; stipulated the perspective ('low...for a heroic effect'), the age of the farmer ('somewheres between 35 and 40'), and the time of day ('sunset'). Wyeth was paid $700 for the commission which included the sketch [NCW 1375]" (N.C. Wyeth: Catalogue RaisonnĂ© of Paintings, vol. II, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, 2008, p. 693). 

Please note this lot is accompanied by a copy of the original advertisement for Niblets Corn, published in the August 10, 1942 edition of Life magazine, for which the present work served as a preparatory study.

This drawing is included as no. NCW 1375 in the Brandywine River Museum of Art's online catalogue raisonnĂ© of the artist's work.