N. C. Wyeth

William Lightfoot Price, 1916
By descent to the present owner

Christine B. Podmaniczky, N.C. Wyeth: Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, 2008, vol. II, no. M.3 (1057), p. 508, illustrated

The present work was originally designed to be a decorative wall panel in the dining room of the Traymore Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The architect for the building, William Lightfoot Price, designed this dining area as a “Submarine Room,” to be adorned with painted murals featuring mermaids and colorful fish. These decorations were commissioned as a collaboration between artists N.C. Wyeth and George Mattews Harding (1882-1959), an illustrator and student of Howard Pyle’s. The present work was not ultimately included in the finished dining room and the subject matter differs slightly from the other panels that were used. The Traymore was unfortunately demolished in 1972 and while the final murals are believed to have been demolished along with it, the present work remains one of the last glimpses into a historic New Jersey landmark.