Lot 145
Maxfield Parrish
New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, (1870-1966)
Daybreak
chromolithograph
Biography from Cornish Colony Museum: Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966) is considered the most reproduced artist in the entire history of art. His painting Daybreak (1922) which was sold May 1996 by Sotheby's in New York for a price of $4.3 million established a record as the highest price ever paid for the work of an American illustrator. Parrish was born in Philadelphia, studied at Haverford College and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
Parrish worked as an illustrator in Philadelphia until 1898, when he settled in Plainfield, New Hampshire. He called his home "The Oaks". He was commissioned to paint his first magazine cover in 1895 at the age of twenty-five. About twenty artists were asked to compete. Parrish's entry won. 1905 proved to be a turning point in the artist life. The woman that was to become his muse and long time lover, Sue Lewin, posed for him for the first time for a major work titled Land of Make-Believe the year she joined the household as an au pair for his children and studio assistant for Parrish. Subsequently, she modeled in most of his major paintings including both male and female figures in the Florentine Fete, a series of murals executed for the Curtis Publishing Company.
Parrish was inundated with commissions from publishers and advertisers. It is estimated that his art delivered over one billion advertisement messages. He also illustrated many books for such major American authors as Nathaniel Hawthorne, L. Frank Baum, Kenneth Grahame, Eugene Fields, Louise Saunders and the redoubtable Edith Wharton. His success and renown grew by leaps and bounds. Commissions for advertisers like Edison Mazda (the precursor of GE) made Parrish's name a household word in the 20's. This led to his success in the print market. The House of Art published many of his well known prints, including Daybreak which was to become the most reproduced image in the history of art.
In the latter years of his life, from the age of sixty to ninety, Parrish almost exclusively dedicated himself to painting landscapes. They were published almost exclusively by Brown and Bigelow in St. Paul, Minnesota, as calendars and executive prints. Parrish painted until the age of ninety-one and achieved the distinction of being one of the best remunerated artists of his day. He died at his home, "The Oaks" in Plainfield, New Hampshire, having lived to see his paintings hanging in the permanent collection of museums.
Parrish has strongly influenced American art. Many of the major luminaries in the art world such as Andrew Wyeth, Norman Rockwell, and Andy Warhol have collected and been influenced by his work. Today, Parrish oils are found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Detroit Art Institute, and the De Young Museum to name a few of the major art institutions that house his work. In his quiet and non-assuming way, Parrish proved beyond the shadow of a doubt the old adage that illustration is at the heart of American Art in the 20th century. His place in history is secure.
Alma Gilbert-Smith
- Provenance: American artist Maxfield Parrish was a twentieth century painter and illustrator. Born in Philadelphia in 1870, Parrish's early art education came from his father Stephen, also an artist, and was formalized at the Pennsylvania College of Arts. While the advent of mass-production, color printing meant steady work for many artists, Maxfield Parrish became a virtual household name in the 1920s. His illustrations and oil paintings flooded their way onto children's books, magazines, calendars, and greeting cards.Maxfield Parrish paintings were known for their rich colors and ethereal quality, characteristics that carried over to the landscapes he focused on later in his career. Thanks to the volume of work he produced, Maxfield Parrish prints values can make them an affordable alternative to the rare original paintings. Collectors of vintage landscape and seascape prints can find a variety of artists online at Invaluable.
- Dimensions: 17 1/2"H x 29 1/2"W, 19 1/2" Hx 31 1/4"W (frame)
- Medium: chromolithograph
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