by Irma B. Jaffe
The American painter and illustrator Newell Convers Wyeth, b. Needham, Mass., Oct. 22, 1882, d. Oct. 19, 1945, father of Andrew Wyeth and grandfather of James Wyeth, was the first of three generations of Wyeth artists. N. C. Wyeth, as he came to be known, left his home in Massachusetts when he was 21 years of age to study art with the famous illustrator Howard Pyle.
From his teacher he acquired a resolutely naturalistic style that lent itself well to the narrative painting and book illustrations for which he became famous. His major work was the illustration of 25 juvenile juvenile classics-- including Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island, and Robinson Crusoe--for Charles Scribner's Sons. He and his grandson were killed by a train in an automobile accident.
© Copyright, 1993 Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc.
Bibliography/Resources:
Allen, Douglas and Douglas, Jr., N. C. Wyeth (1972).
Bee, Dorcas, Brandywine Artists: The Golden Age of Illustration.
Brandywine Conservancy. Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford, PA.
Duff, James H., et al., An American Vision: Three Generations of Wyeth Art (1989).
McClanathan, Richard, The Brandywine Heritage: Howard Pyle, N. C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth, and James Wyeth (1971).
Michaelis, David. N.C. Wyeth: A Biography (Knopf, 1998).
N.C. Wyeth Studio (Brandywine Museum, Chadds Ford, PA).
Wyeth, Newell Convers, The Wyeths: The Letters of N. C. Wyeth, 1901-1945, ed. by Betsy J. Wyeth (1971).
Brother Richard Oliver OSB | Ellis A. Oliver (1872-1937), Philadelphia artist