PITTSBURGH IN THE BEGINNING / PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD. 1930.
40x27 inches, 101 1/2x68 1/2 cm. Condition B+: expertly-overpainted margins; repaired tears and minor overpainting in text and border.
In the late 1920s, N.C. Wyeth was commissioned to produce twelve paintings for the Pennsylvania Railroad featuring patriotic themes. Only four were ultimately painted before the economic situation in America forced the railroad to cancel the rest of the project. The completed paintings were used for posters, and subsequently, in 1932, as calendar backs. A student of Howard Pyle, Wyeth was a prolific illustrator whose work appeared in magazines and children's books. Here, in keeping with his style as a children's book illustrator, this image romanticizes the establishment of Fort Prince George, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, between colonists and Native Americans. We can date the poster via its entry in the Library of Congress catalogue of copyright entries from 1930. Pennsylvania Railroad Patriotic Posters, No. 3. Not in Zega.
