Maxfield Parrish (1870 – 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.
Maxfield Parrish was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to painter and etcher Stephen Parrish and Elizabeth Bancroft. His given name was Frederick Parrish, but he later adopted Maxfield, his paternal grandmother's maiden name, as his middle, then finally as his professional name. He was raised in a Quaker society. As a child, he began drawing for his own amusement, showed talent, and his parents encouraged him.
He attended the Haverford School and later studied architecture at Haverford College for two years beginning in 1888. To further his education in art, from 1892 to 1895 he studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. After graduating from the program, Parrish went to Annisquam, Massachusetts where he and his father shared a painting studio.
In 1885, his work was on the Easter edition of Harper’s Bazaar. He also did work for other magazines like Scribner's Magazine. He also illustrated a children's book in 1897, Mother Goose in Prose. By 1900, Parrish was already a member of the Society of American Artists.
Parrish was earning over $100,000 per year by 1910 when homes could be bought for $2,000.
Dream Garden, a glass-mosaic mural by Parrish and made by Louis Comfort Tiffany, exhibited at the Curtis Publishing Company, Philadelphia
In 1910 Parrish received a commission to create 18 panels to go into the Girls Dining Room of the Curtis Publishing Company Building, then under construction at 6th and Walnut in Philadelphia. It would take him 16 years to finish the monumental project. In 1914, before the murals were completed, Curtis commissioned Parrish to design a 15-by-49-foot (4.6 m × 14.9 m) mural for the building lobby. Tiffany Studios constructed a favrile glass mosaic mural titled The Dream Garden, which is now a part of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts collection.
In his forties, Parrish began working on large murals instead of just focusing on children's books. His works of art often featured androgynous nudes in fantastical settings. He made his living from posters and calendars featuring his works.
In 1931, Parrish declared to the Associated Press, "I'm done with girls on rocks", and opted instead to focus on landscapes. By 1935, Parrish exclusively painted landscapes. Though never as popular as his earlier works, he profited from them. He would often build scale models of the imaginary landscapes he wished to paint, using various lighting setups before deciding on a preferred view, which he would photograph as a basis for the painting.
Parrish's art is characterized by vibrant colors; the color Parrish blue was named after him. He achieved such a luminous color through glazing. This process involves applying alternating bright layers of translucent glaze separated by varnish over a base rendering.
The Elton John album Caribou has a Parrish background. The Moody Blues album The Present uses a variation of the Parrish painting Daybreak for its cover. In 1984, Dali's Car, the British New Wave project of Peter Murphy and Mick Karn, used Daybreak as the cover art of their only album, The Waking Hour. The Irish musician Enya has been inspired by the works of Parrish. The cover art of her 1995 album The Memory of Trees is based on his painting The Young King of the Black Isles. A number of her music videos include Parrish imagery, including "Caribbean Blue".
The American painter Norman Rockwell referred to Parrish as "my idol".
© 2019. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Maxfield Parrish or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only
Maxfield Parrish was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to painter and etcher Stephen Parrish and Elizabeth Bancroft. His given name was Frederick Parrish, but he later adopted Maxfield, his paternal grandmother's maiden name, as his middle, then finally as his professional name. He was raised in a Quaker society. As a child, he began drawing for his own amusement, showed talent, and his parents encouraged him.
He attended the Haverford School and later studied architecture at Haverford College for two years beginning in 1888. To further his education in art, from 1892 to 1895 he studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. After graduating from the program, Parrish went to Annisquam, Massachusetts where he and his father shared a painting studio.
In 1885, his work was on the Easter edition of Harper’s Bazaar. He also did work for other magazines like Scribner's Magazine. He also illustrated a children's book in 1897, Mother Goose in Prose. By 1900, Parrish was already a member of the Society of American Artists.
Parrish was earning over $100,000 per year by 1910 when homes could be bought for $2,000.
Dream Garden, a glass-mosaic mural by Parrish and made by Louis Comfort Tiffany, exhibited at the Curtis Publishing Company, Philadelphia
In 1910 Parrish received a commission to create 18 panels to go into the Girls Dining Room of the Curtis Publishing Company Building, then under construction at 6th and Walnut in Philadelphia. It would take him 16 years to finish the monumental project. In 1914, before the murals were completed, Curtis commissioned Parrish to design a 15-by-49-foot (4.6 m × 14.9 m) mural for the building lobby. Tiffany Studios constructed a favrile glass mosaic mural titled The Dream Garden, which is now a part of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts collection.
In his forties, Parrish began working on large murals instead of just focusing on children's books. His works of art often featured androgynous nudes in fantastical settings. He made his living from posters and calendars featuring his works.
In 1931, Parrish declared to the Associated Press, "I'm done with girls on rocks", and opted instead to focus on landscapes. By 1935, Parrish exclusively painted landscapes. Though never as popular as his earlier works, he profited from them. He would often build scale models of the imaginary landscapes he wished to paint, using various lighting setups before deciding on a preferred view, which he would photograph as a basis for the painting.
Parrish's art is characterized by vibrant colors; the color Parrish blue was named after him. He achieved such a luminous color through glazing. This process involves applying alternating bright layers of translucent glaze separated by varnish over a base rendering.
The Elton John album Caribou has a Parrish background. The Moody Blues album The Present uses a variation of the Parrish painting Daybreak for its cover. In 1984, Dali's Car, the British New Wave project of Peter Murphy and Mick Karn, used Daybreak as the cover art of their only album, The Waking Hour. The Irish musician Enya has been inspired by the works of Parrish. The cover art of her 1995 album The Memory of Trees is based on his painting The Young King of the Black Isles. A number of her music videos include Parrish imagery, including "Caribbean Blue".
The American painter Norman Rockwell referred to Parrish as "my idol".
© 2019. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Maxfield Parrish or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only
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| Mr. Maxfield Parrish |
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| 1897, Very Little Red Riding Hood |
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| 1900, Crane. Design for chocolate packaging |
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| 1900, Playing the lute |
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| 1900, Winter landscape with a farm. Sketch |
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| 1901, Great Southwest - Pueblo Dwellings |
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| 1902, Winkin, Blinkin and Nod |
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| 1902, A collection of daytime dreams: The saga of the seas. Peter Piper |
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| 1903, Villa Gamberaia, Settignano, Italy |
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| 1904, Bat |
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| 1904, Golden age: Miss Smedley at breakfast |
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| 1904, Shuffle-shoon and Amber Locks |
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| 1906, Arabian fairy tales: Sinbad and the Valley of Diamonds |
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| 1906, Arabian fairy tales: The story of Prince Kodadad and his brothers |
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| 1907, Circe in the palace |
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| 1908, Dream Castle in the Sky |
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| 1908, The Lantern Bearers |
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| 1909, Pied Piper. Mural Palace Hotel in San Francisco |
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| 1916, In the Vermont Valley |
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| 1917, Cleopatra |
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| 1920, Summer |
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| 1922, Daybreak |
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| 1924, Lady Violetta and Knave of Hearts at the open stove |
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| 1925, Knave |
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| 1925, The Knave of Hearts |
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| 1926, Stars |
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| 1929, Ecstasy |
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| 1930, Royal. Design for advertising baking |
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| 1930, Noon |
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| 1930, Waterfall |
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| 1935, Freeman Farm: Winter |
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| 1936, Spring |
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| 1936, Two cooks and veal scar |
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| 1940, Sky of June |
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| 1942, The Old Mill |
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| 1944, Evening |
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| 1945, Winter landscape: Creek |
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| 1945, Good fishing |
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| 1948, Evening landscape: Farm hunter |
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| 1950, Old mill |
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