30683 of 419 lots
30683
(2) N.C. Wyeth Letter Correspondences
Estimate:
$1,000 - $2,000
Starting bid:
$500
Sold
$2,200
Live Auction
September 10th: Fine & Decorative Arts Quarterly
Location
20000
Category
Description
(2) N.C. Wyeth (October 22, 1882, October 19, 1945) letter correspondences regarding his illustrations for the book, "Trending into Maine" reading as follows, "Chadds Ford PA March 23rd 1936 Mr. A.R McIntyre Boston Mass, Dear Mr. McIntyre I have naturally been thinking a great deal about the prospective Roberts:Wyeth book on the coast of Maine, but I have been so overwhelmed with duties to perform and things to accomplish that I have had to delay this report to you, and I am sorry. In the following I shall write of my personal reactions and desires regarding my contributions to this work. It is, of course, imperative that whatever I do inthe way of pictures should compliment Kenneth Roberts narrative and should, therefore, follow the contour of his story. I believe, however, that if my pictures are to pervade the book with additional spirit and extra dramatic value, they should not be, in the strictest sense, illustrations of particularized passages gleaned from the text. They should primarily embrace my own feelings about the Maine coast. To repeat, my purpose would be to faithfully follow the contour of Roberts narrative but to step aside as it were, at suggestive passages and episodes, or during the telling of salient epochs and construe from them the materials from which I can out of my own sympathies and knowledges build motives which would be pertinent and adjacent in spirit and meaning rather than repetitive of what has already been vitally expressed. The above, I believe puts before you my personal hopes and desires in this venture, and if followed through this plan would insure a more vital artistic result. The following titles, selected more or less at random, may not be in every instance what Roberts' text would require or even allow; but they will give a hint of the character of _____ I would like to produce. "The Original Inhabitants" The coastal Indian spearing fish in the surf, "The Discoveries of The Maine Coast" Capt. Waymouths ship Archangel sailing the labyrinths of the Georges Islands, "The Building of a Ship" 1840-50, "Ships Timber" Maine Lumberjacks - a log drive, "The Cod Fisher" hand-lining or trawling, "The Lobsterman" Hauling traps in a fog, "A Heavy Blow" Fishing sloops, double reefed; pounding reeds; everything breaking!, "A Maine Fish House" Sunday afternoon, "Island Funeral" The Burial of a Maine Patriarch, "The Clam Digger" Low-tide dawn, "The Captains Wife" Maine coast homestead. There is double responsibility, it seems to me, in selecting these subjects. First to depict what is historically true of this particular coastline, and what is universal in appeal. What would be ideal for me at this time will be to get hold of a general layout or plan of Roberts story, that I may grasp the sequence of its unfolding. This would definitely establish the channels of thought I should pursue. I hope this letter is understandable as that it has some appeal. Very sincerely yours, N.C. Wyeth P.S. I am following the splendid sale of The Hurricane with especial delight." along with a second correspondence as following, on Eight Bells Port Clyde Maine letterhead, "My Dear ______, Last monday I have quite a long conference with Roberts. We were both I think, in good fettle and came to a few promising conclusions regarding the Maine book, especially from my angle as picture maker. However, I must be candid with you and say that I feel rather unexcited by Roberts fundamental approach to the subject and am wondering with concern whether the present trend is his writing will really interest readers. I realize how frightfully presuming I am to say this, and maybe I'm all wrong, and very probably it is bad judgement for me to disturb you with my opinions. The Magic of Maine is a phrase, the spirit of which I had banked on as coming from the pen of a man who knows this state as Robert does, but I can find so little magic in his work thus far; mainly it is cold and categorical and made up of factual things. I respect, deeply, his insistence upon truth and I am not blind to his power, as revealed in his books of heavier narrative, to build factual brick upon factual brick and in the end creating an imposing edifice; but I had hoped in this work for something more iridescently intriguing, more sensitively poignant, a flow of feeling which would reveal those truths of Maine that lie beyond the facts. Much criticism and has been going on about Tristram Coffins "Kennebec" but in spite of the license he has seen fit to take with history and dates, he has achieved, what are to me, stirring passages of Maine Magic, as for instance in the chapter, "Kennebec Crystals". Having had unfinished mss. of Roberts in my hands before, I realize that his early layouts are inclined to be lumpy and somewhat forbidding, nevertheless on the Maine topic. I feel an insistent objective strain which I feel will persist to the end. In our conversation I seemed unable to find a way to persuade him into a more imaginative vein. It is not enough for one to read the the statement that baked beans are only first class when prepared north of the Androscoggin. One must be made to ecstatically breathe their fragrance and the salivary glands much drench ones throat. I feel very definitely that we both need more time to make the most of this undertaking. I myself have found so much more this summer that needs digestion. Even the panel i've already done is clamoring to be done again. It should be more personal and intimate, less a picture of an Indian shooting fish but rather an Indian himself, he and an intimate sea, a swirling of mysterious water with the straining and taut figure bending dizzily over it. Perhaps, in writing this letter I am handing you a headache. If so I am sorry. If what I have said seems cock-eyed and gripes you, tear it up and forget it! If there is any value in it I will count on you to use it skillfully. I do not, of course, want to sour Kenneth Roberts in the slightest degree. I _______ a long time before sending this to you. With warmest regards, Wyeth"
Condition
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