Maxfield Parrish 1870 - 1966

Private Collection
Mrs. Roger Keefe, Norwalk, Connecticut (by descent in the family from the above and sold: Sotheby's New York, May 30, 1986, lot 220, illustrated in color)
Acquired by the present owner from the above sale

Artist's Record Book, no. 342
Ladies' Home Journal, May 1903, p. 3, illustrated
Eugene Field, Poems of Childhood, New York, 1904, illustrated in color
Maxfield Parrish's Pictures in Color, New York, 1905, illustrated in color
Coy Ludwig, Maxfield Parrish, New York, 1973, pp. 75, 78, 207, fig. 58, illustrated p. 92
Paul W. Skeeters, Maxfield Parrish: The Early Years 1893-1930, Secaucus, New Jersey, 1973, p. 172, illustrated in color p. 173
Alma Gilbert, Maxfield Parrish, The Masterworks, Berkley, California, 1995, p. 33, fig 2.12, illustrated in color

This painting is in good condition. It is painted on heavy paper (or possibly two layers of paper) that has been stretched and mounted onto a stretcher. There is a band of black color about 3/8 - 1/4 of an inch across the bottom edge that may or may not be original. For a more detailed condition report prepared by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc., please contact the American Art department.
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 is one in a series of paintings executed to illustrate individual verses of Eugene Field's Poems of Childhood. The poem Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, from which this painting takes its title reads as follows:

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
   Sailed off in a wooden shoe---
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
   Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
   The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
   That live in this beautiful sea;
   Nets of silver and gold have we!"
                     Said Wynken,
                     Blynken,
                     And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
   As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
   Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
   That lived in that beautiful sea---
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish---
   Never afeard are we";
   So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
                     Wynken,
                     Blynken,
                     And Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
   To the stars in the twinkling foam---
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
   Bringing the fishermen home;
'T was all so pretty a sail it seemed
   As if it could not be,
And some folks thought 't was a dream they 'd dreamed
   Of sailing that beautiful sea---
   But I shall name you the fishermen three:
                     Wynken,
                     Blynken,
                     And Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
   And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
   Is a wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
   Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
   As you rock in the misty sea,
   Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
                     Wynken,
                     Blynken,
                     And Nod.

According to Coy Ludwig, "Poems of Childhood was the first book in which Maxfield Parrish's paintings were reproduced in full color. As with prior illustrations, he allowed the author's text only to suggest the subject, and from that point the interpretation was his. This led Bok [Edward Bok, editor of Ladies' Home Journal] to remark that there was more of Parrish than Field in some of the illustrations, but that the artist should not be blamed for that. It was, in fact, a sign of Parrish's artistic integrity and inventiveness that he did not take the more conventional, easier approach toward the interpretation of texts that he was commissioned to illustrate" (Maxfield Parrish, New York, 1973). In 1905, Charles Scribner's Sons issued four illustrations from Poems of Childhood as color prints. The widely distributed edition included Wynken, Blynken, and Nod as well as The Dinkey-Bird, With Trumpet and Drum, and The Sugar Plum Tree.