Indisputably one of the world's greatest illustrators, Newell Convers Wyeth is best known for adding a new and unforgettable dimension to dozens of classic adventure books—Treasure Island (1911), The Boy's King Arthur (1917), and Robinson Crusoe (1920) among them—in the early decades of the twentieth century. Combining skilled draftsmanship and a genius for light and color with the ability dictated by his teacher Howard Pyle to project himself into each painting, Wyeth succeeded brilliantly at evoking movement, mood, and the range of human emotions. His prolific output, in addition to easel paintings and murals, included illustrations for hundreds of stories in periodicals from McCall's to the Saturday Evening Post, popular prints, posters, calendars, and advertisements. His early portrayals of the Old West reveal the influence of Frederic Remington, while much of his later work clearly made a strong impression on the art of his son Andrew, like his father one of America's most admired painters.

Further Reading:

Allen, Douglas, and Douglas Allen, Jr. N. C. Wyeth: The Collected Paintings, Illustrations and Murals. New York, Bonanza Books, 1984.

Michaelis, David. N. C. Wyeth: A Biography. New York, Alfred A.Knopf, 1998.