a major finding aid for the N.C. Wyeth Correspondence Collection of Betsy James Wyeth

One more step Mr. Hands, a painting by N.C. Wyeth for the book Treasure Island.(in the public domain)

When I lived in West Chester, Pennsylvania, I used to visit the Brandywine Museum of Art at Chadds Ford, where N.C. Wyeth's art is exhibited, so the announcement below is interesting to me and I think for anyone who enjoys art, art in children's literature or access to primary sources. 

Hello! My name is Lillian Kinney, librarian and archivist, and Manager of the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Research Center at the Brandywine Museum of Art in Chadds, Ford, PA, managing our libraries, archives, and special collections. I am very pleased to announce the publication of a major finding aid for the N.C. Wyeth Correspondence Collection of Betsy James Wyeth, which can be found digitally on our new instance of ArchivesSpace: brandywinearchives.libraryhost.com/repositories/2/... . Detailing the life of this American artist and illustrator, this collection of original letters and photographs were collected and curated by his daughter-in-law, Betsy James Wyeth (wife of Andrew Wyeth), as part of her work towards publishing The Wyeths: The Letters of N.C. Wyeth, 1901-1945. They came to Brandywine's archives as a gift from Betsy's estate in 2024. The letters in this collection include both business and personal correspondence, written to and from N.C., with a majority of the personal letters written to his mother, Henriette Zirngiebel Wyeth. Photographs also make up a large portion of this collection, detailing multiple generations of the Wyeth family, with most of them taken by N.C. himself. The collection is incredibly important, not only in documenting his life and art, but also in how it documents the lives of his children (Henriette Wyeth Hurd, Nathaniel Wyeth, Carolyn Wyeth, Ann Wyeth McCoy, and of course, Andrew Wyeth). Major events in early-twentieth century American and world history are also documented with first-person experience and observation, such as presidential inaugurations, both world wars, the Spanish flu epidemic, polio, the Great Depression, and many technological advancements. Due to the incredible number of materials in this collection, the finding aid will be published in installments, so look for future additions to the inventory as the work progresses. The first portion of the database alone contains records for approximately 575 letters and 570 photographs that span N.C.'s childhood and early career, including his studies with mentor Howard Pyle and travels out West. For research inquiries, please see the Research Center's website for more information: www.brandywine.org/research or email research@brandywine.org Thank you for your time, and please join me in celebrating this new resource in American Art! ------------------------------ Lillian Kinney Manager of the Walter & Leonore Annenberg Research Center Brandywine Museum of Art Chadds Ford, PA research@brandywine.org ------------------------------