Howard Pyle: An Appreciation

I hope you haven't been bored with all the attention paid to Howard Pyle. He was not only one of the very best illustrators of all time but he generously shared his talent and knowledge with his younger peers. Nobody has ever done for his fellow man what this giant did in his lifetime.

The greatest testament to Howard Pyle is the roster of brilliant talent that follows, and they comprise but a partial list of those who were fortunate enough to attend his classes or work in his studio.

C.W. (Clifford Warren) Ashley, 1881-1947. The Christmas Exile, from Scribner's Monthly Magazine for December 1909.

W.J. (William James) Aylward, 1875-1956. The Waterside Life at Mystic (CT). An illustration for The Nutmeg Coast, from Harper's Monthly Magazine for September 1916.

Anna Whelan Betts, dates unknown. Nelly Custis in the Mount Vernon Garden, from The Century Magazine for May 1906.

Harvey Dunn, 1884-1952. Something for Supper, 1943. A painting in the collection of the
South Dakota Art Museum.

Elizabeth Shippen Green, 1871-1954. Jehane, the Constant Lover, from "The Navarrese," by James Branch Cabell, Harper's Monthly Magazine for September 1907. Shippen Green was one of the best and the most prolific of Pyle's students. (She had also studied with the noted painter Thomas Eakins.) This is not typical of her magazine work which was largely illustrations of children. However, it is one of my favorites.

Click on top image to enlarge the entire painting.

Illustrations don't get better than this. Despite the crude color separations and printing it's still a dazzling portrait. Another lovely portrait.

Violet Oakley, 1874-1961. The Easter Hymn, from The Century Magazine for March 1904.

Thornton Oakley, 1881-1955. A colleague and friend, but not the husband of Violet Oakley, as I had always assumed. Setting Out for a Tiger Hunt. Illustration for On the Indian Railway, from Harper's Monthly Magazine for October 1916.

Maxfield Parrish, 1870-1966. I am Sick of Being a Princess. Illustration for The Princess and the Boy, from The Century Magazine for December 1904.

More Parrish illustrations of the period.

Jessie Willcox Smith, 1863-1935. Illustration for Dickens's Children: Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit on Christmas Day. One of four illustrations from Scribner's Monthly Magazine for December 1910.

Thanks to author Michael Glaser, here's a link to Smith, Green and Oakley, The Red Rose Girls.

Sarah S. Stilwell-Weber, 1878-1939. In October, from Scribner's Monthly Magazine for October 1905. Click on her link listed in the Categories section for more examples of her work.

E.A. (Edward Arthur) Wilson, 1886-1970. Illustration from Iron Men and Wooden Ship, a collection of Sea Chanteys, first published by Doubleday in 1924.

N.C. (Newell Converse) Wyeth, 1882-1945. Famous as a book illustrator and father of painter Andrew Wyeth. Illustration for On the Fourth Day Comes the Astrologer from his Crumbling Old Tower, by Mark Twain, from Harper's Monthly Magazine for July 1916.

Next: Charles Dana Gibson (1867-1944) and His Imitators

Comments

[Edward Palmer]

Wonderful site as I am a hugh "fan" of Pyle and his students and their studies. Thanks for taking the time and effort for putting together this site. I look forward to browsing through more in the future.

Edward Palmer

[giam]

Great to hear from you, Michael, and many thanks for the kind words and fact-checking. I have always assumed they had met at Pyle's studio and were later married and I apologize for not checking it out. For the benefit of our readers, you should know that Michael is the author of "Where Does a Hermit Crab go?" an all-time best selling children's book and I wish I knew how to link it here. There is a link under the illustration of Jessie Willcox Smith in the Howard Pyle: An Appreciation page.

[Michael Glaser]

I've been learning so much from your web site, Paul. It's terrific. Your 100 Years of Illustration would make a wonderful book, though maybe you reach more people with a web site these days. Thank you for all this great information about these legendary illustrators.

I did find one small inaccuracy as I websurfed for more information about Thornton Oakley. It turns out that he was not married to Violet Oakley, though they were good friends and were both students of Howard Pyle. Thornton married Amy Ewing in 1910 and Violet apparently lived a long life on her own terms. Two fascinating people. The Norman Rockwell Museum hosted an exhibition about the "Red Rose Girls" (so called by Howard Pyle) which included Violet Oakley, Jessie Wilcox Smith and Elizabeth Shippen Green. I have included the URL to the exhibit page: http://www.nrm.org/exhibits/redrose/gallery.html

I'm looking forward to reading more of your blog this year. I'm really impressed, though I've always been impressed by your talent and your generosity. Thanks.