Edward Penfield: A Christmas at Café Spaander, 1902

These illustrations appeared in Penfield's story in the December 1902 issue of Scribner's Monthly Magazine. His text began, "INSLEY should have been at home. He had been working hard all summer in the little Dutch fishing village, but it had taken him until now to finish his pictures and get them together for his annual exhibition in London." The reference is to Albert Babb Insley (1842-1937) one of America's greatest landscape painters of the time.

Penfield continues: "During the summer he [Insley] and half a dozen fellow artists had made the café their headquarters, and things had been jolly enough. In the evenings, after their day's work, these friends would sit at the little tables on the veranda chatting over their coffee, or watching the incoming fishing boats, their great patched sails holding the evening light." Click on these two images to enlarge.

What is curious about this illustration is the central figure holding the cigar. I believe it is Penfield drawing himself. You can check it out with the photo of him that appeared earlier in this account.

Most of Insley's models had been the children of fishermen, but Pietje,a beautiful young woman of 17, who had kept the kids in line for him and posed occasionally, was his favorite. The story centers about her and her younger sister, Katrina, and the arrival of Christmas after a poor fishing season and a lack of presents for the children of the village.

This is Katrina in a pensive mood.

The lovely Pietje, another wonderful illustration by Penfield, and a close-up to admire his skillful delineation and restrained use of color. Much, of course, is lost to the primitive state of four-color process reproduction in its early days. Imagine how that would look today!

So as not to leave you in suspense, in the end a grand old Albert Babb Insley saved the day with presents for all the children.