Maxfield Parrish is one of the most iconic artist of the Golden Age of Illustration. He was most well known for his calendar covers in the 1920's and 1930's. These would been seen across America's homes at the time, and often the calendar artwork would be saved and framed, after that year had passed. He was also commissioned for many magazine covers, book illustrations and commercial artwork (such as for Jello). But Parrish, like many other Golden Age Illustrators (such as JC Leyendecker and Howard Pyle), did not get the notoriety and name recognition they deserved.
Aside from Parrish being probably my favorite artist, he was also a good person to profile as being hidden in history.
Guest speaker: Judy Goffman Cutler, Founder and Director of the National Museum of American Illustration in Newport, Rhode Island, and the American Illustrators Gallery in New York City. For Judy's full biography, please refer to the People Hidden in History website (link here).
Judy will review key aspects of Parrish's professional life (spanning 70 years) and the 3 distinct artistic style periods. And you'll learn about the history of the National Museum of American Illustration, which houses the largest collection of Parrish's world-wide. And finally, you will learn about his very distinctive style, which can be fantastical, or photo-realistic landscape paintings. You'll also be given an understanding of his painting techniques which provided a physical luminosity to his canvases.
Episode Markers: (in min:secs)
- Background - National Museum of American Illustration & Vernon Court (2:36)
- Who was Parrish? (5:25)
- His father and early influences (8:52)
- Arc of Parrish's Career - 3 Distinct Phases (11:00)
- Highlights of Parrish works at NMAI (20:12)
- The Florentine Fetes by Parrish, & placement in Vernon Court (25:00)
- The start of Judith Goffman Cutler's Parrish Collection (34:39)
- Current and Future Exhibits of the NMAI Collection (45:34)
Further information:
National Museum of American Illustration (NMAI) (link here)
Maxfield Parrish page at NMAI (link here)
Maxfield Parrish Webpage @ People Hidden in History Website (link here)
Basic Website with all Episodes/All Platforms
Twitter/Instagram: @phihpod
Mastodon: @phihpod@historians.social
PHOTO Credit: Griselda by Maxfield Parrish, Image - Courtesy of the National Museum of American Illustration, Newport, RI.
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