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N.C. Wyeth's Treasure Island, Classic Illustrations for a Classic Tale

September 10, 2011 - November 20, 2011
N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945), All day he hung round the cove, or upon the cliffs, with a brass telescope (detail) (1911), oil on canvas, collection of the Brandywine River Museum.

N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945), All day he hung round the cove, or upon the cliffs, with a brass telescope, 1911, oil on canvas, collection of the Brandywine River Museum of Art.

The year 2011 was the 100th anniversary of the publication of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island with illustrations by N.C. Wyeth. 

The famous edition was a critical and popular success, established Wyeth among the period’s foremost illustrators, and became the iconic Treasure Island for generations of readers. To mark the anniversary, all 16 dramatic paintings created by Wyeth were on display together for the first time since they left the artist’s studio a century ago.

The exhibition also presented some Treasure Island productions of the last 100 years created by the many illustrators, theater and film directors and even digital application designers who have been influenced by Wyeth’s imaginative vision. These productions are as varied as a 1915 stage version and Disney’s 2002 movie Treasure Planet.