Gillian Hayward LIS60665-Assignment 1

Exhibit: The Whimsical Artistry of Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)

Maxfield Parrish was an American painter and illustrator born in Philadelphia in 1870. From an
early age, he displayed a whimsical style in his sketches and artwork. He became well-known for
both his whimsy and humorous characters, as well as dreamlike landscapes and figures, and the
“Parrish blue” often used in his skies. His work appeared in popular books, advertisements,
magazines, and calendars, but he was also well-known for several murals – two of which were in
Philadelphia (Old King Cole, formerly at the Mask and Wig Club, and The Dream Garden, a
stained glass collaboration with Louis Comfort Tiffany at the Curtis Building).This exhibit will
showcase books and manuscripts that demonstrate his whimsical illustration style at different
points in his life.

The exhibit will be in one long case, and contain the following items:

 (1884) Letter to his cousin Henry Bancroft, written on a trip to Europe at age 14, and
heavily illustrated [From Delaware Art Museum]

(Parrish, M., 1884)

 (1885) 2nd letter to his cousin Henry Bancroft, written on a trip to Europe at age 14, and
heavily illustrated [From Delaware Art Museum]

(Parrish, M., 1885)

Gillian Hayward LIS60665-Assignment 1

 (1890) Chemistry notebook from Haverford College with drawings [From Haverford
College Library Special Collections]

(Parrish, M., 1890)

 (1904) First edition of Poems of Childhood, which contains the

first published color illustrations of Parrish’s work (Anderson,
1994). Ideally, multiple copies of the book would be available
to display multiple illustrations at once. [From Haverford
College Library Special Collections]

(Figure 1. Cover of Poems of Childhood. March 10, 2019)

 (1925) First edition of The Knave of Hearts. Ideally, multiple copies of the book would
be available to display multiple illustrations at once. [From Haverford College Library
Special Collections]

Panel text: Parrish said “The reason I wanted to

illustrate The Knave of Hearts was on account of the
bully opportunity it gives for a very good time
making the pictures, Imagination could run riot,
bound down by no period, just good fun and all
sorts of things” (Anderson, 1994, p. 11).

Knave of Hearts [Digital image]. (2019). Retrieved from

https://www.etsy.com/listing/662994754/rare-maxfield-parrish-illustrated-book
Gillian Hayward LIS60665-Assignment 1

 (1994) Modern edition of The Maxfield Parrish Pop-Up

Book, which puts some of Parrish’s more whimsical
artwork in three dimensions.

Figure 2. Page from The Maxfield Parrish Pop-Up Book. March 10, 2019)

A subpanel of the exhibit could be books illustrated by Parrish’s contemporary Philadelphia-area

illustrators, each with their own unique style: Howard Pyle (The Story of King Arthur and his
Knights; The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood) and N.C. Wyeth (Treasure Island, Tom Sawyer)
(National Museum of American Illustration, 2019).

While this exhibit focuses on Parrish’s whimsical artwork, a subpanel could address his more
romantic, dream-like work. Another could address his commercial work for advertisements.

The exhibit would be for any audience, but perhaps of added interest to fans of Parrish’s art, or
residents of the Philadelphia area. It might also be of interest to art students.

Some programming ideas related to the theme:

 Have a coloring station of line art drawings of some of Parrish’s work for children to
color (if permissible with licensing restrictions).
 Have a local illustrator come in to demonstrate their technique, or to teach an illustration
class (could be a multi-part class).
 Have an art historian come in to discuss Parrish’s work, as well as that of other
contemporary illustrators (N.C. Wyeth, Howard Pyle).
 Organize a tour of Parrish works in the area (Dream Garden mural at the Curtis Building;
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; Philadelphia Museum of Art).
 Have a children’s story time featuring Poems of Childhood (using a modern reprint
edition). Have several copies available for children to look through. Conduct a drawing
activity afterward to illustrate something from the book.
 Have a related display of Parrish’s work: calendars, advertisements, posters, magazines,
etc. (if a local collector can be found).

References

Anderson, J. (1994). The Maxfield Parrish pop-up book. Rohnert Park, CA: Pomegranate
Artbooks.

National Museum of American Illustration. (2019). Howard Pyle 1853-1911. Retrieved from
http://www.americanillustration.org
Gillian Hayward LIS60665-Assignment 1

National Museum of American Illustration. (2019). N.C. Wyeth 1882-1945. Retrieved from
http://www.americanillustration.org

Parrish, M. (1884, October 9). From Maxfield Parrish to Henry Bancroft, Veulettes, France,
October 9, 1884 [Letter]. Retrieved from
http://cdm16397.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p16397coll21/id/6416/rec/5

Parrish, M. (1885, March 3). From Maxfield Parrish to Henry Bancroft, Paris, March 3, 1885
[Letter]. Retrieved from
http://cdm16397.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p16397coll21/id/6408/rec/12

Parrish, M. (1890). School notebooks. Chemistry [Notebook]. Retrieved from

https://tripod.haverford.edu/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991009009749704921&context=L
&vid=01TRI_INST:HC&search_scope=HC_All&tab=Everything&lang=en