The Giant: Celebrating 100 Years

Commissioned by the Class of 1910 in memory of classmate William C. Engle, N. C. Wyeth’s The Giant was presented to Westtown on Alumni Day, June 2, 1923. The painting reflects Engle’s love of the sea, childhood imagination, and the friendship between artist and subject. The children in the scene are Wyeth’s five children, with Engle represented by the young man in the white hat.

An artist himself, Engle attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia and later studied with N.C. Wyeth, living in Chadds Ford. He spent the summer of 1916 on a classmate’s family farm in West Branch, Iowa, in an attempt to recuperate from tuberculosis. That summer he painted three landscapes, which now hang in the Main Building. Unfortunately, Engle succumbed to tuberculosis later that year in November on his 25th birthday.

When William Engle came to Westtown in the fall of 1908, the only art class offered was freehand drawing. Engle always made time for his art, however. Westtown classmates later said that between classes he was always out with brush and palette, painting about the countryside. Fifteen years later, when The Giant arrived at Westtown in June 1923, George Whitney—student and friend of N. C. Wyeth—was completing his third year as the school’s director of fine arts and expanding the arts department. Bacon Cottage, which included new art studios with lots of natural light, was dedicated on the same day as The Giant.

Since The Giant came to live at Westtown 100 years ago, the fine arts program has greatly expanded. Today, Upper School students can choose from Intro to Studio Art: 2D and 3D; Drawing and Painting; Photography and Digital Art; Ceramics; Sculpture; Woodworking; and  Studio Art Forum. The Giant arrived at Westtown during a time when fine arts were gaining greater appreciation, and that has continued. However, you don’t need to be a student in art class to appreciate The Giant—it still hangs in the Dining Room for all to enjoy, and was restored last year to preserve it for generations to come. ~Chrissie Perella Clement, Westtown School Archivist 

At the Annual Meeting of the WAA Board, this film by Erik Freeland ’80 was screened. Please enjoy this lovely tribute piece to The Giant.