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Nightfall is the last of the monumental temperas that occupied N C Wyeth in the 1940s prior to his sudden death. The painting demonstrates his mastery, decades into his career, in creating a powerful sense of narrative. Correspondence reveals that the artist based the composition on a Cahadds Ford farmer whose wife was dying, her presence symbolized by by light emanating from the upstairs window in the distant house. The enigmatic expression on the farmer's face denotes both strength and vulnerability. Wyeth's letters at the time indicate his own dark mood, fueled by anxiety related to the ongoing war as well as concern for his own artistic legacy.
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