Catalogue Note
In the present painting, Maxfield Parrish captures the picturesque countryside of his New Hampshire home, where the artist and his wife, Lydia, moved from Philadelphia in 1898, and where he eventually built his home known as The Oaks. While this new environment provided the privacy and lack of distractions he needed to produce some of his most ambitious works, Parrish had been inspired by this bucolic landscape from the earliest days of his career. Writing of his parents’ home in Cornish, New Hampshire, Parrish said, “Such an ideal country, so paintable and beautiful, so far away from everything—and a place to dream one’s life away…I long to be up there and become identified with it” (Sylvia Yount, Maxfield Parrish: 1879-1966, New York, 1999, p. 23).In 1931, at the height of his popularity in America, Maxfield Parrish issued a statement to the Associated Press announcing his decision to abandon the figurative work that had made him a household name. Now, he declared, he was devoting himself exclusively to landscape painting: “I’m done with girls on rocks. I have painted them for thirteen years and I could paint them and sell them for thirteen more…It’s the unattainable that appeals. Next best thing to seeing the ocean or the hills or the woods is enjoying a painting of them» (Maxfield Parrish: A Retrospective, San Francisco, California, 1995, p. 14).As a result of this decision, the magical, detailed landscapes previously seen only as backgrounds for his figurative works now became the primary subject. Goddesses and nymphs were replaced by another ideal—the mountains, rolling meadows, grand oak trees, humble barns and open blue skies of the American landscape. The jewel-like color he sought to achieve is demonstrated in New Hampshire Hills, which displays a complementary palette of deep purple and tawny ochre highlighted with passages of lush green. The brilliant quality of the light—one of Parrish’s primary aesthetic interests—suffuses the composition with a radiant glow, contributing to a tranquil, idyllic vision of his beloved New England home.
References
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Maxfield Parrish: The Early Years, 1893-1930
A book by Paul W. Skeeters
1973
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Maxfield Parrish
A compendium of the life and work of Maxfield Parrish
1997
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Maxfield Parrish: The Masterworks
The book is the authoritative collection of Parrish’s best works
2001
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Maxfield Parrish: Painter of Magical Make-Believe
The first color reproduction posters displayed the glowing hues and architectural detail of Parrish’s work
2011
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Maxfield Parrish: The Secret Letters
This fascinating story is based on 323 previously unknown handwritten letters that the artist wrote during the years of 1936 to 1941 to a young, intellectual, and beautiful woman with whom he fell madly in love late in his career
2013
Condition
This work is in very good condition. Under UV: Some pigments fluoresce unevenly in the sky but they are inherent to the artist’s technique and materials. There are tiny dots and dashes of inpainting in the sky.In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby’s is merely a subjective qualified opinion.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD «AS IS» IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
About Maxfield Parrish
During the Golden Age of Illustration, Maxfield Parrish’s «beautiful settings and charming figures» enchanted the American public. His work includes immense murals in office buildings and hotels, magazine covers, and advertisements as well as his book illustrations.
Many of his illustrations to children’s books, still popular today, are the result of his struggle to make a living as an artist in his early years around the turn of the 20th century.
He was born Frederick Parrish in 1870 in Philadelphia, but he took the name Maxfield after his Quaker grandmother. His father, Stephen, was also an artist and Parrish’s greatest influence. He originally studied architecture, an interest that is evident in his paintings. He married his wife Lydia 1895.
Daybreak, his arguably most famous picture, was created for the art print market. It is still popular to this day.
In 1900, Parrish contracted tuberculosis, and then suffered a nervous breakdown. Around that time, he switched from illustrations to oil painting. His oil paintings became very popular, with their brilliant colors and magical luminosity, until well into the 1940s. To achieve these magical effects, he would apply numerous layers of thin, transparent oil, alternating with varnish over stretched paper, a painstaking process that achieved both high luminosity and extraordinary detail.
The tuberculosis hung on and Parrish went to Arizona to convalesce in the dry heat there. While in Arizona, he was commissioned to do a series of landscapes. He began painting and traveling on commission and his career took off.
Parrish worked at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire, called The Oaks. The Oaks was a popular destination for guests during the summers but in the frozen New Hampshire winters, Parrish dedicated himself to his painting.
In 1905, Parrish’s met Susan Lewin, a 16-year old girl hired as a nanny for his son Dillwyn. Her image appears often in paintings from this time through the 1920s. Over time, Susan became Parrish’s assistant, model for his paintings, and eventually his lover. His wife, Lydia, and Maxfield grew increasingly estranged and she left him in 1911. Susan stayed with Maxfield for another 50 years.
From the 1930s until 1960, when he stopped painting, Maxfield Parrish refocused his attention on the world around him, producing a series of calendar landscapes. Yet even these retain the magical, window-to-the-otherworld quality that permeates all of his work.
Parrish died at 95 in 1966, at a time when his work was enjoying a renaissance of interest.
Works
More photos
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Villa Pliniana, Lake Com
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The Knave of Hearts
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Pastry Chefs
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The Knave of Hearts Watching Lady Violetta Depart
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A Grape Gatherer (Scribner’s Magazine cover)
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The Knave of Hearts
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The Knave of Hearts
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Dies Irae
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Interlude
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Princess Parizade Bringing Home the Singing Tree
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Tart Thief
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Lady Violetta and the Knave Examine the Tarts
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Lady Ursula Kneeling before Pompdebile
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The Chefs at the Table: Heading for The Knave of Hearts
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The Knave of Hearts
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The Knave of Hearts
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Puss in Boots
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The Sugar Plum Tree
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Sing a Song of Sixpence
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painting
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Cardinal Archbishop Sat on His Shaded Balcony
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Reveries
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At Close of Day
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Cascades (Quiet Solitude)
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Daniels Farm, Summer
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Loneliness
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Autumn Brook
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Sheep Pasture, Cornish, New Hampshire
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Summer
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Grand Canyon
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The Dinky Bird
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Garden of Allah
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White Birch
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Afterglow
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Hill Top Farm, Winter
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Birches in Winter
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Road to the Valley
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Air Castles
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Moonlight
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Contentment
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The Lantern Bearers
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Romance
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Stars
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Ecstasy
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Moonlight Night: Winter
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Daybreak
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Recovery from Tuberculosis
In 1900, Parrish fell seriously ill and contracted tuberculosis, which was shortly followed by a nervous breakdown. This period marked a turning point in his work, as it was during this time that he began mixing oils and glazes to achieve the vibrant hues that he became so well-known for.
Parrish moved to Arizona during this time to recuperate and found great inspiration in the canyons and the striking southwestern imagery. He embarked on a series of sunrises and sunsets in brilliant orange hues contrasted with shadows of blue and purple.
Maxfield Parrish, Land of Make-Believe, ca. 1905, private collection. Christie’s.
Use of Glazing
A key component of Parrish’s signature style was the remarkable use of light and color. He was the proponent of many innovative artistic techniques that involved the use of glazing. His artworks involved a painstaking process involving numerous layers of glazing applied in an alternating fashion with a pure pigment of bright varnish. Therefore, the result was an incredibly saturated and mesmerizing effect. Parrish would also superimpose pictures of subjects onto his canvas and then cover them with glaze to create a striking three-dimensional effect.
Maxfield Parrish, Mill Pond, ca. 1945, private collection. Sothebys.
title: The Lantern Bearers
artist: <bdi><a href=»https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Maxfield_Parrish» class=»extiw» title=»w:en:Maxfield Parrish»>Maxfield Parrish</a>
</bdi>
date: 1908<div style=»display: none;»>date QS:P571,+1908-00-00T00:00:00Z/9</div>
medium: Technique oil canvas mounted=cardboard
dimensions: Size cm 101.6 81.3
current location: institution:Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
source: [http://www.arktimes.com/EyeCandy/archives/2010/07/28/light-in-the-ozarks www.arktimes.com]
credit: <a rel=»nofollow» class=»external text» href=»http://www.arktimes.com/EyeCandy/archives/2010/07/28/light-in-the-ozarks»>www.arktimes.com</a>
title: The Sugar-Plum Tree
artist: <bdi><a href=»https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Maxfield_Parrish» class=»extiw» title=»w:en:Maxfield Parrish»>Maxfield Parrish</a>
</bdi>
date: 1905
medium: Technique print paper
dimensions: Size in 10 15
source: [http://fineart.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=76021&lotNo=28025 Heritage Auctions]
credit: <a rel=»nofollow» class=»external text» href=»https://fineart.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=76021&lotNo=28025″>Heritage Auctions</a>
description: <div class=»description»>
From ‘Poems of Childhood’ by Evgene Field with Illustrations by <u style=»background-color:yellow;» class=»»>maxfield</u> <u style=»background-color:yellow;» class=»»>parrish</u></div>
Biography
Maxfield Parrish was certainly one of our most prominent illustrators and hardly a home in America existed that didn’t have a Maxfield Parrish print. I’m an illustrator. Maxfield Parrish was a painter-illustrator. He was in the Golden Age of Illustration. When I was in art school I admired him. He was one of my gods.
— Norman Rockwell
One of the most popular artists during the Golden Age of Illustration, Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966) illustrated poetic narratives set in other-worldly landscapes of ancient gnarled trees, tumbling waterfalls, and azure skies, painted with precision and dreamlike clarity. His incredible popularity was built on the expansion of the print market and the distribution of his imagery for calendars and books of poetry and tales of the fantastic. It is estimated that in the 1920s, a quarter of all American households displayed a Parrish print on their walls.
For a short time Maxfield Parrish was a student of influential teacher Howard Pyle, who also instructed illustrators N.C. Wyeth, Frank Schoonover, Harvey Dunn, and many others, though Parrish had already undergone a thorough education at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art with Thomas Anshutz and Robert Vonnoh. The solid training both of these teachers had received in Paris ateliers was passed on to Parrish who added his own unique flavor to the make-believe world he would invent in paint. Parrish’s unique paintings were commissioned for book illustrations, magazine story illustrations, building murals, calendars, and commercial advertisements for companies like Colgate, General Electric, and Edison Mazda Lamps. By utliizing bold colors to illustrate fantasy images, Parrish created paintings of great and lasting beauty.
Illustrations by Maxfield Parrish
https://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/jason-and-his-teacher
https://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/poets-dream
https://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/the-little-peach
https://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/the-dinky-bird
https://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/cover-of-the-arabian-nights
https://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/garden-of-allah
Additional Resources
- Yesterday’s Papers
- “The Illustrator in America, 1860-2000,” by Walt Reed
- Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators
Bibliography
Cutler, Laurence S. and Judy Goffman Cutler. Maxfield Parrish. New York: Crescent Books, 1993.
Kowalski, Jesse. Enchanted: A History of Fantasy Illustration. New York: Abbeville Press, 2020.
Ludwig, Coy L. Maxfield Parrish. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1973.
Menges, Jeff A. Worlds of Enchantment: The Art of Maxfield Parrish. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2010.
Yount, Sylvia. Maxfield Parrish, 1870-1966. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999.
title: Villa Gamberaia, Settignano
artist: <bdi><a href=»https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Maxfield_Parrish» class=»extiw» title=»w:en:Maxfield Parrish»>Maxfield Parrish</a>
</bdi>
date: 1903<div style=»display: none;»>date QS:P571,+1903-00-00T00:00:00Z/9</div>
medium: technique oil canvas
current location: Institution:Minneapolis Institute of Arts
source: [https://collections.artsmia.org/index.php?page=detail&id=3281 Minneapolis Institute of Arts]
credit: <a rel=»nofollow» class=»external text» href=»https://collections.artsmia.org/index.php?page=detail&id=3281″>Minneapolis Institute of Arts</a>
license:
Broad Sphere of Influence
In his long career, Parrish left behind a sizable legacy of artworks. For example, he created murals, advertisements, book illustrations, greeting cards, and magazine covers. Some of his important clients included Brown & Bigelow Publishing Company, candy manufacturer Clarence A. Crane, Harper’s Bazaar, Life, and General Electric, to name a few.
Daybreak was perhaps Parrish’s best well-known work. It sold in 2006 for $7.6 million and is iconic for its influence on pop culture of the time. Variations of this painting were used in a Michael Jackson music video, a movie poster for The Princess Bride, and a Moody Blues’ album cover to name a few.
In 2001, the US Post Office featured Parrish in commemorative stamp series honoring American illustrators.
title: Puss-in-Boots
artist: <bdi><a href=»https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Maxfield_Parrish» class=»extiw» title=»w:en:Maxfield Parrish»>Maxfield Parrish</a>
</bdi>
date: 1913
medium: Technique oil panel
dimensions: Size cm 76.2 60.3
source: christies online|ID=5561243|sale=2561|lot=18, New York, 16 May 2012
credit: <a href=»https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christie%27s» class=»extiw» title=»en:Christie’s»>Christie’s</a>, LotFinder: entry <a rel=»nofollow» class=»external text» href=»https://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=5561243″>5561243</a> (sale 2561, lot 18, New York, 16 May 2012)
title: The Rubaiyat
artist: <bdi><a href=»https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Maxfield_Parrish» class=»extiw» title=»w:en:Maxfield Parrish»>Maxfield Parrish</a>
</bdi>
date: 1917<div style=»display: none;»>date QS:P571,+1917-00-00T00:00:00Z/9</div>
dimensions: size in 7.5 29
source: [http://historical.ha.com/itm/books/maxfield-parrish-the-rubaiyat-volchrome-print-from-the-original-painting-by-maxfield-par/a/6091-36211.s# Heritage Auctions]
credit: <a rel=»nofollow» class=»external text» href=»https://historical.ha.com/itm/books/maxfield-parrish-the-rubaiyat-volchrome-print-from-the-original-painting-by-maxfield-par/a/6091-36211.s»>Heritage Auctions</a>
Connections
Maxfield Parrish met his future wife, Lydia Ambler Austin, a painter and instructor, while studying at Drexel Institute of Art, Science & Industry (currently Drexel University). Maxfield and Lydia married on June 1, 1895. The marriage produced three boys named Dillwyn, Maxfield, Stephen, and one girl Jean.The youngest child served as a model for Parrish’s painting ‘Ecstasy’. Jean followed her parents’ steps and became an artist.Living with Lydia, Parrish had also romantic relationships with Susan Lewin, the housekeeper of the family home, The Oaks, in Cornish, New Hampshire. She served as a model for many of Parrish’s canvases, including ‘Sleeping Beauty’.After Parrish’s wife death, Susan expected Parrish to marry her. There was no proposal and she formed a family with her childhood boyfriend. A ninety-year-old artist who still worked actively on canvases completely stopped to paint.
Love for Landscapes
Although Parrish was known for his illustration, his true passion lay in landscape art. He experimented with landscapes throughout his career and imbibed elements of landscape artistry into his industrial commissions. It was only after he was comfortable in his financial success that he turned exclusively to landscapes sans the figurative, as this was less lucrative. The financial freedom allowed him to develop his signature technique. The Old White Birch depicts the distinctive tree native to Parrish’s home state of New Hampshire and is considered one of the best works of his career.
Maxfield Parrish, Cleopatra, ca. 1917, private collection. Sothebys.
Painting in Dreams of Color
Maxfield Parrish is one of the most beloved American illustrators of the 20th century. His signature blue is showcased in the night sky of this Harper’s Bazaar lithograph from 1914 of Cinderella.
If there is a hallmark of the work of Maxfield Parrish, it is the brilliance of his colors. That along with enchanting figures set in pastoral landscapes make up the signature style of this twentieth century illustrator, and help explain just why he is one of the most beloved American artists in history.
Here we show our appreciation by ranking his work according to their significance and appeal–a top ten homage to an artist who reminds us how truly beautiful art can be.
After you get inspired by Parrish’s glowing colors and delightful compositions of whimsy and beauty, be sure to check out how to Win Your Wish List from Artists Network. One lucky art enthusiast is going to win their wish list this year! Enjoy!
10. Very Little Red Riding Hood (1897)
Prominent forms and controlled color distinguish Maxfield Parrish’s early work. Not as complex as his other compositions of this time period, Red Riding Hood still shows a stylized take on the female figure and face that is in keeping with the work from this era. In this case, as it likely should, the red cape of of the nursery room story takes center stage in both color and design.
9. Sing a Song of Sixpence (1910)
Whimsical, lyrical and showing a love for architecture and nature, Sing a Song of Sixpence is one of many nursery rhyme illustrations Parrish created during his career. The medieval costuming and combination of a tight picture plane and rich pops of color and pattern are sweet spots for the artist.
8. Lady Violetta and the Knave (1923)
One of several famous works from The Knave of Hearts, Parrish’s last book commission, Lady Violetta is shown peering into an ornate oven to see if her baking tarts are done. This is but one of 26 powerhouse illustrations the artist created for the Louise Sander’s book riffing on Mother Goose nursery rhyme. The sumptuous, glowing color of the work is due to Parrish’s use of translucent glazes, a technique he is famous for.
7. Romance (1922)
Romance is one of Parrish’s three best-known paintings, along with Garden of Allah and Daybreak. It debuted in a blockbuster exhibition of Parrish’s work held by the Scott and Fowles gallery in New York City. It was sold for $10,000 and at that time made Parrish the highest paid artist in America.
6. Stars (1926)
Rarely talked about but showcased here is the fine line Maxfield Parrish walked between innocence and eroticism. Contemplative, charming and very much nude, the figure in Stars — like several other Parrish works — is put on display but the human body is presented as natural, lovely and almost abstracted when you take it to the shapes and colors displayed in the work as a whole.
5. Ecstasy (1930)
Parrish maintained a lucrative contract with General Electric from 1918-1934, creating a calendar image for their Edison Mazda Lamp Division every year. Ecstasy shows one of Parrish’s famous “girl on the rock” images, which began with Dawn (also showing a female in a toga-esque dress, cliffside and contemplating glorious skies) in 1918.
4. Moonlight Night: Winter (1942)
One of Parrish’s latest works, Moonlight Night: Winter, is so precisely drawn and crafted that there is something almost preternaturally still about the scene as a whole. Showing the artist’s gift for glowing blues, the painting is also a step away from the strong storytelling that earlier works present.
3. The Dinkey-Bird (1904)
An image that became an icon for youthful grace and abandon, The Dinkey-Bird is from a book of Parrish’s published images. The printing of the book marked the first time the artist’s work appeared in full color.
2. Daybreak (1922)
This painting is the first work that Parrish painted specifically for reproduction as an art print. It was extraordinarily successful and has become an image icon. The publisher, three years after the print hit the stands, estimated that one in every four households had a copy of Daybreak. In 1936, Time magazine put forth: “as far as the sale of expensive color reporductions is concerned, the three most popular artists in the world are van Gogh, Cezanne, and Maxfield Parrish.”
Early Life
Parrish was raised in a Quaker society in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was given the name Frederick Parrish, but later adopted his paternal grandmother’s maiden name. His father, Stephen Parrish, was a painter and etcher, and was possibly Parrish’s greatest influence and first foray into the art world. Maxfield showed an early acumen for painting and was encouraged by his parents to pursue his natural talent. In his travels to Europe with his parents, he found profound inspiration in the works of the Old Masters’ and also in classical architecture.
After his graduation from Haverford School, Parrish pursued formal education in architecture at the Haverford College in Pennsylvania. His focus on architectural details is evident in many of his works. Urged by his father, Parrish also received art education at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Drexel Institute of Art, Science & Industry in Pennsylvania.
Maxfield Parrish, Puss-in-Boots, ca. 1913, private collection. Christie’s.
Literature
Coy Ludwig, Maxfield Parrish, New York, 1973, p. 219, no. 815Maxfield Parrish Jr., ed., Illustrated Catalog of the Paintings and Sketches of Maxfield Parrish, 1973, no. 76, illustrated p. 13Alma Gilbert, Maxfield Parrish: The Masterworks, Berkeley, California, 1992, p. 168, illustrated in color fig. SE.24, p. 243Laurence S. Cutler and Judy Goffman Cutler, Maxfield Parrish: A Retrospective, San Francisco, California, 1995, p. 134Laurence S. Cutler and Judy Goffman Cutler, Parrish & Poetry: A Gift of Words and Art, San Francisco, California, 1995, p. 69Alma Gilbert, Maxfield Parrish: The Landscapes, Berkeley, California, 1998, p. 82, illustrated in color pl. 15, p. 83Laurence S. Cutler, Judy Goffman Cutler and the National Museum of American Illustration, Maxfield Parrish and the American Imagists, Edison, New Jersey, 2004, p. 278, illustrated in color p. 279
title: Cardinal Archbishop Sat on His Shaded Balcony
artist: <bdi><a href=»https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Maxfield_Parrish» class=»extiw» title=»w:en:Maxfield Parrish»>Maxfield Parrish</a>
</bdi>
date: 1901
medium: Technique oil paper mounted=cardboard
dimensions: Size cm 36.8 24.1
source: christies online|ID=5561242|sale=2561|lot=17, New York, 16 May 2012
credit: <a href=»https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christie%27s» class=»extiw» title=»en:Christie’s»>Christie’s</a>, LotFinder: entry <a rel=»nofollow» class=»external text» href=»https://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=5561242″>5561242</a> (sale 2561, lot 17, New York, 16 May 2012)
