Artist of the Day, February 25, 2025: Edward Penfield, an American illustrator, graphic artist (#2226)

Edward Penfield (1866 – 1925) was an American illustrator in the era known as the "Golden Age of American Illustration" and he is considered the father of the American poster. His work has been included in almost every major book on American Illustration or the history of the poster. He is also a major figure in the evolution of graphic design.

He was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Ellen Lock Moore and Josiah B. Penfield. He first studied at New York's Art Students League. He worked under George de Forest Brush, who was known for his romantic scenes of American Indian life. He first worked for Harper's Weekly and later became art director. He developed his own unique style of simplified figures with bold outlines in settings free of extraneous detail. He believed, "A design that needs study is not a poster, no matter how well executed." He wrote and published a book titled Holland Sketches, which was published by Scribner's in 1907.

Penfield lived in New Rochelle, New York, a popular art colony among actors, writers and artists of the period. The community was most well known for its unprecedented number of prominent American illustrators. He was one of the founding members of the New Rochelle Art Association which was organized in 1912.

His posters were bold and stood out from a distance with great clarity. As artists like Alphonse Mucha, Théophile Steinlen and Toulouse-Lautrec popularized the poster in Europe, Penfield accomplished the same feat in the United States. For his posters, Penfield utilized simple shapes and a limited palette of colors that lent themselves to the primitive methods of reproduction of the era.

© 2025. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Edward Penfield 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

Edward Penfield

Self–Portrait, circa 1898

Ayer’s Cherry Pectorials, 1890-1907

Harper’s September cover, circa 1890

Harper’s Christmas cover, circa 1893

Harper’s March cover, circa 1894

Harper's August cover, circa 1894

Harper's September cover, circa 1894

Harper’s September cover, circa 1895

Study for Harper's January (In Washington's Day), circa 1896

Harper’s cover, circa 1896

Harper’s February cover, circa 1896

Harper's May cover, circa 1896

Three Gringos, circa 1896

Cover Page for 1897 Calendar

E.P. and J.W.P., Catskills, circa 1897

The Martian, circa 1897

Study for 1897 Calendar

Harper’s January, 1898

Harper’s Weekly, Christmas, circa 1899

circa 1900

The last of the  Knickerbockers, Circa 1901

Dutch Girl cover illustration, Saturday Evening Post, May 11, 1907

The Pierce-Arrow, 1910

YWCA Land Service Committee, circa 1918 poster design

Will You Help the Women of France - Save Wheat, circa 1918
poster design, U. S. Food Administration

American Football Player

Bookplate

Dutch Family at Harbor