Pyle’s Students

An exhibition, sir, of self-effacement which shames our puny civilized philanthropy, 1905, from “Taken at the Flood,” by Vincent Harper, in Saturday Evening Post, June 3, 1905
N. C. Wyeth (1882-1945)
Oil on canvas, 22 x 32 inches
Bequest of Mr. Frank H. Mackie, Jr., 1992
DAM 1992-78

This illustration was created for a story about an officer entering the Salvation Army.  This officer is inspired to follow the example of an Indian who gave away all of his possessions before going to war.  Here we see a close-range, eye-level view of American Indians gathered around several small camp fires on a beach with boats and water just visible in the distance to the right and rocky hills with houses to the left.