His Students
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Howard Pyle and His Students Jay G. Williams 2014 According to legend, there lived in ancient times a virgin by the name of Gwenfrewi, who was desired in marriage by Caradog, a prince of Cymru. His request refused, he attempted to carry her off by force. Gwenfrewi fled, pursued by the prince, who in a great rage struck off her head, which bounded down the hill into a vale to a church, and on the spot where it rested a spring of amazing capacity bubbled forth. Gwenfrewi’s uncle, St. Beuno, who was officiating in the church, rushed out, replaced the severed head, and with prayer, restored the virgin to life. Thus was Gwenfrewi Santes born. Howard Pyle and his students Jay G. Williams 2014 Gwenfrewi Santes Press “Whereever the head rolls.” Howard Pyle Preface No history of illustration in America could be complete without a discussion of the work of Howard Pyle and his students. Although he was certainly not, as some say, “The Father of American Illustration,” for there were many great illustrators who preceded him, he was clearly instrumental in making the “Golden Age of Illustration” more golden. Most notably, it was Pyle, more than anyone else, who encouraged women to enter the field. As we shall see, many of the most notable women illustrators were his pupils. Basic facts about Pyle and his students are easy to come by for the Web, particularly Wikipedia, provides that information without difficulty. Walt Reed also provides information in his The Illustrator in America: 1860-2000. Susan E. Meyer’s book, America’s Great Illustrators, gives even more information about some illustrator-artists, while a work such as Henry C. Pitz’s Howard Pyle, Writer, Illustrator, and Founder of the Brandywine School provides a wealth of information not found elsewhere. This book in no way intends to compete with Pitz’s work. The aim is not to provide more information but rather to offer again the opportunity to look at the pictures themselves, for it is in them that the artist’s creativity and skill are exemplified and his or her message conveyed. All the pictures in this book are taken from my own collection that includes illustrations from 1859 until 1923 when copyright laws begin to apply. This collection, though quite large, does not, indeed could not, contain all the pictures that any artist has offered to the public. Moreover, I have only been able to use a small fraction of the collection. For each of his pupils who is discussed herein, for instance, I have limited the number of pictures to three or four, though in one instance I have included five. The idea is not to provide complete coverage but to offer a chance to hear each artist speak. In other words, this is an invitation to ponder and study and not just leaf through. There are no chapters in this book, but the first half is about Pyle and the second half about his pupils. The table of contents simply indicates where each of the pupils is discussed. So, enjoy and ponder. For the most part I do not provide interpretation. That is the task of the reader. Jay G. Williams Table of Contents Part I Howard Pyle 1 Part II: His Students Stanley Massey Arthurs 61 William James Aylward 66 Anna Whelan Betts 71 Elizabeth Shippen Green 75 Charlotte Harding (Brown) 79 Thornton Oakley 84 Violet Oakley 87 Maxfield Parrish 91 Ernest Peixotto 96 Frank Earle Schoonover 101 Jessie Willcox Smith 106 Alice Barber Stephens 111 Sarah S. Stilwell Weber 116 N. C. Wyeth 120 Conclusions 126 Part I: Howard Pyle Howard Pyle was born on March 5, 1853 not far from Wilmington, Delaware. His family had lived in the area for several generations and were a part of the rather large Quaker community there. His home, on the old Kennett Pike (now called Pennsylvania Avenue), was in the country and he grew up surrounded by lawns, orchards, flowerbeds, and beautiful scenery. After a few years, however, his father’s leather business had difficulties and they moved to somewhat smaller quarters closer to Wilmington. During the Civil War that began when he was eight, he saw much activity in the harbor and troops marching south to engage in the war. Since Quakers are usually pacifists, it is doubtful that many of his relatives participated in the war, but the excitement of the war surrounded him as he grew up. It is interesting that he concentrates in his illustrations on the Revolutionary and not the Civil War. Although Pyle, as a young child, loved to draw and to read children’s books, he was not a very promising student. In fact, it became clear that he would not get into college anywhere with his school record. So, at age sixteen, he was enrolled in a small art school in Philadelphia presided over by an Antwerp trained art teacher named Van der Wellen. Aside from a few sporadic classes later at the Art Student’s League in New York City, Pyle’s three years with Mr. Van Wellen gave the only art training he ever received. He did not even like what he learned, for, as he was to say, it trained him to be a copyist but not a creator. Certainly, at the art school he learned little that would impel him to become a writer and creator of a wide variety of books for both children and adults. One must conclude that his natural talents were stimulated, not by classes in school, but by his own reading from his mother’s library of illustrated books. This fact seems to have been behind his essential attitude toward his own teaching. That is, he believed that art education must “educe” rather than just “train.” What is most important, he emphasized, is the development of one’s own creativity rather than copying what the teacher thinks is good. After leaving the art school at age 19, he worked for a while in his father’s leather business. In 1876, however, he and his father took a trip to visit the Chincoteague Islands off the coast of Virginia. As a result, he wrote an illustrated article about the islands and their wild horses that he submitted to Scribner’s Monthly Magazine. The article was accepted and published in April. 1877. The editor also urged Pyle to move to New York to be closer to the places of publication. This he did and very soon became part of the world of illustration. Here are some of the illustrations he used in his initial article. 1 April, 1877 Scribner’s Monthly 2 3 4 5 The world of illustration and illustrators was already large and many-sided. Here is a list of illustrators with whom Pyle might have come in contact. Younger illustrators will be listed later. AMERICAN ILLUSTRATORS 1820s 1828 Alfred Waud 1891 1828 Henri Lovie ? 1830s 1830 Frank Vizetelly 1883 1830 Granville Perkins 1895 1832 William Waud 1878 1833 Sol Eytinge 1905 1833 W. L. Sheppard 1912 1834 Francis Schell 1909 1834 Thomas Worth 1917 1834 George De Maurier 1896 1838 Winslow Homer 1910 1838 Walter Shirlaw 1909 1839 Edwin Forbes 1895 1839 Matt Morgan 1890 1840s 1840 Thomas Nast 1902 1840 Theodore Davis 1894 1840 Paul Frenzeny 1902 1842 Frederick S. Church 1924 1844 C. S. Reinhardt 1896 1845 Harry Fenn 1911 1847 F. Farny 1916 1847 Mary Hallock Foote 1938 1848 Thure de Thulstrup 1930 1849 Rufus Zogbaum 1925 1850s 1851 A. B. Frost 1928 1852 Edwin Abbey 1911 1852 Charles Graham 1911 1853 J. O. Davidson 1894 1853 Milton Burns 1933 1853 Jean Geoffroy 1924 6 1853 L. Marchetti 1909 1854 William A. Rogers 1931 1854 George Innis II 1926 1855 Charles Dater Weldon 1935 1855 William Hatherell 1928 1856 Bernhardt Gillam 1896 1856 Reginald Birch 1943 1857 Joseph Pennell 1928 1858 William T. Smedley 1920 1858 Alice Barber Stephens 1932 1858? Victor Gillam 1920 1858 Willard Leroy Metcalf 1925 1859 B. West Cliendiest 1931 1859 Childe Hassam 1935 1859 Charles J. Budd 1926 7 In June of 1878, Pyle offered another set of illustrations, this time as silhouettes. This work is somewhat reminiscent of Winslow Homer’s illustrations for Lowell’s Courtin’ published four years earlier. 8 9 As the year went on, it became very clear that Pyle was already a part of the complex world of illustration centered in New York. He became friends with such stalwarts as A. B. Frost, Frederick S. Church, and Edwin Abbey. Not only Scribner’s but Harper’s also saw signs of real artistry in his work and offered him assignments. He was on his way. Nevertheless, after a very few years he decided to leave New York and return to Wilmington. He never regretted the move. In fact, not long after his return to Delaware, he married Anne Poole. Together they had seven children and a very happy life. He opened a studio and began producing prodigious numbers of illustrations, articles, and books. Here are some of the pictures that he did during the remainder of the seventh and beginning of the eighth decade of the 19th Century. It was the age of wood engraving as the pictures show. 10 April 6, 1878 Harper’s Weekly 11 July 18, 1878 Harper’s Weekly One of his great loves was to illustrate poetry. 12 August 16, 1879 Harper’s Weekly 13 January 19, 1880 Harper’s Weekly 14 June, 1880 Harper’s Monthly One of Pyle’s great loves was American history, particularly the time of the Revolutionary War.