The Passing of Robin Hood

Robin Hood’s last arrow

In the old ballads, the dying Robin Hood asks Little John for his bow. He shoots one last arrow through the window and asks to be buried where it falls. N. C. Wyeth painted this moment in 1917 as an illustration for Paul Creswick’s book Robin Hood.

The painting belongs to the Brandywine River Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

Drawing the bow one last time

Robin sits up in bed in a white shirt, pale and weak, his long hair falling forward. He draws the bow with steady hands, aiming at the open window.

The arrow is notched and pointed towards the light.

Light from an open window

Sunlight floods in through a leaded window, showing green trees outside. The bright window is where the arrow will fly, and where Robin will be buried.

Grieving companions

Behind him, Little John supports him, while another companion in green hides his face in grief. They stand in shadow, in contrast to the bright bed and window.

N. C. Wyeth

Newell Convers Wyeth (1882 to 1945) was one of America’s greatest illustrators. He studied with Howard Pyle, the founder of the Brandywine School of illustration. Wyeth illustrated classics such as Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Last of the Mohicans and Robin Hood for the publisher Charles Scribner’s Sons. His dramatic, colourful images shaped how generations of readers imagined these stories.

He was the father of the painter Andrew Wyeth and grandfather of Jamie Wyeth, founding a family dynasty of American artists.

The death of Robin Hood

In the ballads, Robin Hood falls ill and goes to his kinswoman, the prioress of Kirklees, to be bled, a common medical practice. She betrays him and lets him bleed too much. Dying, he asks Little John for his bow and shoots a final arrow out of the window, asking to be buried where it lands. Wyeth shows this last, poignant act.

Dramatic light

Light streams through the window, catching Robin’s face and the bow. The room is dark, and his companions are shadowy figures. Wyeth used strong contrasts of light and dark to focus attention on the moment. His illustrations were painted in oil on large canvases, then reproduced in books.

Illustration as art

For a long time, illustration was considered less important than fine art. Today, artists like Wyeth are recognised as masters. His original paintings are collected by museums, especially the Brandywine River Museum of Art in Pennsylvania, which celebrates the Wyeth family.

Where to see it

The Passing of Robin Hood belongs to the Brandywine River Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Our hand-painted oil reproduction follows this composition. You can also read about Wyeth’s Blind Pew.

Questions about The Passing of Robin Hood

What does it show?

Robin Hood shooting his last arrow to choose his burial place.

Who painted it?

The American illustrator N. C. Wyeth, in 1917.

Where is it?

Brandywine River Museum of Art, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

Was it a book illustration?

Yes, for Paul Creswick’s Robin Hood (1917).

Who was N. C. Wyeth’s teacher?

Howard Pyle, founder of the Brandywine School.

Which book did this illustrate?

Robin Hood, published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1917.

Sources and image credit

• Brandywine River Museum of Art
• Wikimedia Commons: The Passing of Robin Hood

Public-domain reproduction of The Passing of Robin Hood (1917), via Wikimedia Commons. Detail images are crops of the same image; no reconstruction or upscaling.