N. C. Wyeth

N. C. Wyeth

N. C. Wyeth, or Newell Convers Wyeth, was an American illustrator who lived from 1882 to 1945. Wyeth came to notoriety after his first major commissioned illustration for Scribner’s ‘Treasure Island’ in 1911. During his lifetime, he illustrated 112 books and made countless illustrations. He was very successful, which was a major feat, as he was a Realism artist working during the rise of photography. 

Wyeth was born in Needham, Massachusetts to an old American family who had immigrated to the United States in the 17th century. He was raised with a healthy dose of Americana culture, including stories from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and the literary works of Thoreau and Longfellow. Wyeth’s mother fostered his artistic endeavors from a young age and by 12 years old, he was doing watercolors. 

Wyeth’s big break came when he was accepted to Howard Pyle’s art school. Pyle was an illustrator giant who is often regarded as the father of American illustration. Wyeth’s talents were immediately noticed and nurtured. At 20 years old, Wyeth received his first commission for The Saturday Evening Post. The following year, The Saturday Evening Post commissioned Wyeth to illustrate an entire story which was a western. Howard Pyle convinced Wyeth to travel west to witness the life he was drawing, and his illustrious career began.

In 1911, Charles Scribner’s Son’s commissioned Wyeth to illustrate an edition of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. This turned out to be a commercial success. In 1908, Wyeth had moved with his family to Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, in a house along the Brandywine Creek. In 1911, he used the proceeds from the book to pay off both his house and studio. Additionally, he came to notoriety after this publication, which was his first major commissioned illustration. This jump-started Wyeth’s career of illustrating classic literature books for a new young audience.

Wyeth followed Treasure Island up with illustrations of Kidnapped, The Mysterious Stranger, The Black Arrow, Robin Hood, The Boy’s King Arthur, The Mysterious Island, and The Last of the Mohicans, amongst many others. Bookwork was most of his work. Though he was highly successful, Wyeth was pigeonholed in illustration, a position he lamented.

Wyeth was very successful in his life. He had a large family to support so he continued to work in illustrations, as the pay was dependable, even though he wanted to branch out and work on his own paintings. In turn, Wyeth nurtured his children’s art and many of them became well-respected artists in their own right. His son, Andrew Wyeth, is well-known today for his famous painting, “Christina’s World”. In 1941, Wyeth was accepted into the National Academy. This was a dream for him, and he often exhibited his works there. In 1945, Wyeth and his grandson died in a terrible and tragic accident at a railroad crossing. He was 63.

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