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Lot 163
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A. Wyeth ANS With 3 Original Sketches Incl. Drawings After Wyeth's 1964 "The Patriot"
A. Wyeth ANS With 3 Original Sketches Incl. Drawings After Wyeth's 1964 "The Patriot"
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Description:

A. Wyeth ANS With 3 Original Sketches Incl. Drawings After Wyeth's 1964 "The Patriot"

Three pieces related to American realist artist Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009), including an autograph note signed by him as "Robin Hood" and three original pen and pencil drawings by him. Two of the drawings depict World War I veteran and Maine lobsterman Ralph Cline, the subject of Wyeth's 1964, "The Patriot." The items date ca. November 16, 1999 - May 22, 2000. [Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.] On neat scraps of drawing or typing paper. Isolated foxing and minor water stains are negligible and are mentioned just for accuracy. Else near fine. The average size of the paper slips is 3.125" x 4.625."
Provenance: From the personal collection of George & Helen Sipala, Wyeth's longtime friends and neighbors in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Accompanied by a letter of authenticity dated November 2, 2020 originally signed by Helen Sipala.

The lot consists of:

1. A 1p autograph note signed by Wyeth as "Robin Hood" at lower right. N.d. To his Chadds Fords neighbors George & Helen Sipala, Wyeth wrote in full, with unchanged spelling and punctuation: "Was here at 11:30 / wanted to take / you to lunch - / Call me at Studio / Robin Hood."

2. A piece of drawing paper featuring pencil sketches on both sides. Inscribed "Ralph Kline" [sic] and dated "11/16/99" in another hand along the top margin recto. The obverse depicts the back of a standing soldier, a World War I uniform suggested by the flare of the trousers and by taut puttees. The reverse depicts a bust portrait of Ralph Cline in military uniform.

Andrew Wyeth met Ralph Cline (1895-1976), an American serviceman who had enlisted in April 1917 and served in the American Expeditionary Forces overseas, in the early 1960s. His portrait of Cline, "The Patriot," was completed in 1964 and is now in a private collection. Wyeth greatly admired Cline, who in civilian life was a lobster fisherman and sawmill operator. Of this portrait, Wyeth said: "You see, (') my pictures ' Ralph Cline, for instance ' come from dreaming of my past experience. As a child (...) I used to go to my father's studio and he'd saved the newspapers of the First World War (...) and I used to pore over those. I can remember the smell of newspaper, the pictures, the page of the casualty list, pictures of General Pershing, Frank Luke the Balloon Buster, or Rickenbacker or Leonard Wood, or Captain Whittlesey of the Lost Battalion, or even the tunic of the man who was killed in Serbia at the start of the war' All that faded into the picture. I wanted to paint my truth behind the fact."

3. A piece of typing paper depicting a mature and immature tulip tree flower attributed to Wyeth. Inscribed "Tulip Tree Flowers" and initialed and dated "A.W. 5/22/00" at the top and bottom.

Provenance

George & Helen Sipala lived at Painter's Folly, near Route 1 (or Baltimore Pike) in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania from 1974 until 2018. Painter's Folly was an Italianate style residence built in 1857 that had served as Howard Pyle's summer art colony around the turn of the twentieth century; Wyeth's father had studied there.

In her letter of authenticity, Helen Sipala states that Andrew Wyeth's first visit to Painter's Folly occurred on March 1, 1989, after Wyeth had rambled onto the property to study a pair of mermaid statues. Wyeth's home and studio was located about 1.5 miles to the southwest of Painter's Folly. The artist was cordially received and granted full access to the house, roofline, and property. Wyeth visited regularly, sometimes almost daily, over the next 20 years until his death in 2009. Painter's Folly is depicted in Wyeth's work of the same name, from 1989 (see picture included for reference). In the end, about half a dozen Wyeth works feature either Painter's Folly or the Sipalas.

Helen wrote in part:

"When we weren't home, he [Andy] would leave us a written note on the kitchen table to let us know of his visit. At first it was any little piece of paper he could find until we realized that a pad was necessary. As you will see, the notes pertained to what he was working on, the time of the day, and with a personal sketch or two.

The notes were signed with various comical notations or signatures. Robin Hood, The Snowman, The man on the roof, Old Bones, The Spirit, etc. were just a few. Sketches might explain what he was working on or just silly thoughts in his head'Little did he know, that these simple drawings and letters would become a real part of our lives, and, hopefully, a real part of Andy's legacy'"

Wyeth and the Sipalas also socialized together in Chadds Ford, Maine, and elsewhere, and Helen Sipala also occasionally posed for him. Helen Sipala relied on recollections, diary entries, and the voluminous collection of ephemera that Andy left behind on his visits to compose her memoir, "Beyond the Marriage Bed: My Years as Friend, Model and Confidante of Andrew Wyeth" (Berkeley, California: Regent Press, 2021), edited by Bruce E. Mowbray. In 2018, Painter's Folly was purchased by Chadds Ford as part of its Historic and Open Space inventory initiatives.

Andrew Wyeth was the youngest child of nationally acclaimed illustrator Newell Convers Wyeth (1882-1945). Andrew became known for his spare, stark, monochrome depictions of nature and rural American life. His moving work "Christina's World" (1948), showing his physically disabled neighbor Christina Olson stretched out in a field, is emblematic of Wyeth's style and tone. He typically sketched in pencil or watercolor, and his finished large-scale artwork was accomplished in either watercolor, drybrush watercolor, or egg tempera.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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