Newell Conyers Wyeth 1882 - 1945

William and Eleanora Smith Armstead, 1914 (gift from the artist)
By descent in the family to the present owner

Collier's Weekly, July 27, 1912, p. 19, illustrated
Douglas Allen and Douglas Allen, Jr., N.C. Wyeth, The Collected Paintings, Illustrations, and Murals, New York, 1972, p. 255
Christine B. Podmaniczky, N.C. Wyeth: A Catalogue Raisonné, Wilmington, Delaware, 2008, vol. I, no. I420, p. 254, illustrated in color

The following condition report has been prepared by Simon Parkes Art Conservation: This painting has recently been cleaned and, although there is a very slight patina to the paint layer in some areas, this painting looks to have been properly cleaned and further cleaning is not needed. The canvas is unlined, the paint layer is stable. There is a reinforcement on the upper center and lower center on the reverse. The one in the upper center corresponds to a restoration in the white sleeve on the left arm of the wrestling figure. The other reinforcement corresponds to a restoration in the rear right hoof of the horse. There are a few other spots that show strongly under ultraviolet light in the lower left, but these are not recent restorations. The picture is in very good and fresh condition and should be hung in its current state.
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.

The present work first appeared in a 1912 issue of Collier’s Weekly as an illustration for “Sir Henry,” a short story by R.W. Hofflund. N.C. Wyeth created two images to supplement Hofflund’s text, the tale of an Englishman who opens a pool hall and candy shop in the tiny Western town of Vistelia, Arizona.

Born in Needham, Massachusetts, Wyeth possessed a lifelong fascination with the world beyond the Mississippi, and first gained attention as an illustrator of Western scenes. Supported by his teacher, Howard Pyle, who encouraged his students to accept travelling assignments from publishers in order to research a story, Wyeth traveled west for the first time in 1904. He recognized the value of these real-life adventures; they provided him with years of material to fulfill his audience’s growing appetite for images of the Wild West.

By the early 20th century, Wyeth had become among the country’s most sought after illustrators for books, magazines, short stories, and advertisements, largely due to his unparalleled ability to encapsulate the subtle details of a complex narrative into a single compelling image. The present work, whose title is taken from a line of the story’s text, depicts the climactic moment in the narrative, when the heroic Sir Henry—appropriately dressed in white—finally defeats the shadowy antagonist who has come to terrorize Vistelia’s residents. Wyeth’s composition is fittingly dynamic and dramatic. As the horse swirls on the dusty road and the villain’s gun flies through the air, Wyeth’s image successfully conjures all the elements of a classic Western scene, and confirms the idea of swashbuckling adventure that the frontier evoked at this time.