Caleb Kendall Wheeler

Caleb Kendall Wheeler, a brave airman, met his fate over the skies of Hungary during World War II. Born in Concord, Massachusetts, he was the third son of Ruth Robinson Wheeler and Caleb Henry Wheeler, Jr. His mother, Ruth Robinson Wheeler, was a prominent historian, newspaper editor, and author in Concord. Caleb graduated from Concord High School in 1939 and later attended Bowdoin College. In February 1943, he graduated and promptly left Harvard Graduate School to join the military. In January 1944, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Air Force and married Elizabeth Kathleen Trundy in Presque Isle, Maine. Tragically, on July 2, 1944, Caleb Kendall Wheeler lost his life in action over Budapest1.

‘Men of Concord’ together at last
By Nancy Shohet West Globe Correspondent,April 1, 2016, 7:35 a.m.

The 1936 cover illustration for “Men of Concord” by N. C. Wyeth. RICK ECHELMEYER
Whether he was penning the illustrations for Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” or sketching out an ad for Lucky Strikes cigarettes, early 20th-century illustrator and artist N.C. Wyeth often dreamed of a very different kind of project

A great admirer of Henry David Thoreau, Wyeth yearned to apply his artistic talents toward illuminating the works of the renowned naturalist — specifically his journals. He even got as far as pitching the idea to publishing house Houghton-Mifflin.

But not until Francis Allen, an early Thoreau Society member and Houghton-Mifflin editor, took an interest did the project actually gain traction.

The result, once Wyeth was finally commissioned to create art based on the words and ideas of Thoreau, was “Men of Concord,” a high-end coffee table-type book illustrated with panels by Wyeth which serves as the inspiration for a two-part exhibition opening concurrently on April 15 at the Concord Museum and the Concord Free Public Library.

According to Leslie Perrin Wilson, curator of the William Munroe Special Collections at the library, it was always Wyeth’s intention that the 12 “Men of Concord” paintings should hang together in perpetuity, preferably in the public art gallery created by a 1937 renovation of the library. And Wyeth offered a price that sounds minimal now: $5,000 for the whole set, a discount from the $650 per painting price at which he listed the works.

The library balked at the money. But in 1944, Caleb Kendall Wheeler, a Concord native who grew up reading the works of Thoreau, died fighting in World War II. His parents, searching for an appropriate public memorial, purchased one of the panels for the library in 1947 in their son’s memory, and later the library corporation purchased two more. The rest went into private collections.

So it seemed a fitting kickoff to next year’s 200th anniversary of Thoreau’s birth to realize Wyeth’s vision at last and bring all 12 paintings together for the first time.