The Springhouse
Date1944
Artist
N. C. Wyeth
(American painter, illustrator, 1882–1945)
MediumEgg tempera on hardboard
Dimensions36 x 48 in. (91.4 x 121.9 cm)
frame: 45 1/2 x 57 3/8 in. (115.6 x 145.7 cm)
frame: 45 1/2 x 57 3/8 in. (115.6 x 145.7 cm)
Credit LineSpecial Purchase Fund, 1946
Object number1946-1
On View
On viewCollections
ClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextAlthough N.C. Wyeth is best known as an illustrator, he also produced a number of paintings depicting the countryside near his home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Wyeth's attention to detail—his crisp delineation of the local grasses and the stone building—creates a convincing evocation of the Brandywine Valley.A springhouse is a storehouse built over a natural spring and used to keep food cool. This work does not represent a specific springhouse, but is instead a composite view of typical stone structures, overlaid with the artist's childhood memories of farm life.
