Friday, October 31, 2014

The Maxfield Parrish Poster Book



Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery.
...Wikipedia

Understated! Maxfield Parrish was one of the most influential artists of the early 1900s. His work covered so many subjects and genres, that he is difficult to classify. Neo-classical ... yes. Arts & Crafts ... yes. Magazine cover illustrator par excellence ... absolutely. Master of color ... without a doubt.

In fairness, Wikipedia does go on to say: 
Parrish was one of the most successful and prolific of the illustrators and painters of the Golden Age of Illustration. He was earning over $100,000 per year by 1910, at a time when a fine home could be purchased for $2,000. Norman Rockwell referred to Parrish as "my idol." Parrish, although unique in his execution and never duplicated, exhibited considerable influence upon other illustrators and artists, an influence which continues through the present.

I have always loved his work, from the innocence of his "girls on a rock" images, to his compositions of people framed by fantastic architectural structures, to his whimsical knaves and princes. We have this book titled The Maxfield Parrish Poster Book. This is a later (1974) publication of his poster art ... each piece in the folio ready for framing. OK, these are not originals, but the price is right and the execution of the prints is quite good. 



Printed and published in the USA by Harmony Books (New York) in 1974 with an Introduction by Maurice Sendak. The book contains 21 independent prints, plus the introduction and a chronology. Nice find. ($49.00 in the shop.)






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