Maxfield Parrish

Daybreak
Maxfield Parris
1897-1966

We're all tired of snow, ice, slush and wind stories. How about some pretty paintings for the weekend? I like to post old pictures on the blog from the Golden Age of Illustration, but somehow I've neglected Maxfield Parrish. He lived a long, influential life and shaped visual arts in America even though he wasn't part of any movement-- his technique was completely original.

Back in the last century (during the 60's decade) my generation believed we "discovered" Parrish. There is some truth to that, because suddenly posters and prints were everywhere. Parrish died at age 95 in 1966, right when his work was enjoying a renaissance. His paintings were a hippie's delight with dreamy color saturated landscapes, androgynous nudes and fantastic settings. The pictures have that peek-into-another-world feel, and Daybreak is probably the most famous and reproduced example.

In 1931 Parrish declared "I'm done with girls on rocks" and decided to focus on painting landscapes. These were beautiful, but of course never as popular as naked girls on rocks.

Mill Pond

Parrish also did advertising and magazine work. Early in his career illustrated children's stories, nursery rhymes and poems.

Snow White

The dazzling color Parrish blue was named after him. He used a technique called glazing where bright layers of oil color were separated by varnish. His original work has a three-dimensional quality he achieved by enlarging and cutting out photographs then covering them on the canvas with thick, clear layers of glaze. Reproductions in books and digital images can only give a hint of that deep quality.

The best place to see original Parrish art is the National Museum of American Illustration in New York.

Here's a few more dreamy examples of illustrations from children's books-

Jack and the Beanstalk

The Enchanted Prince

Sleeping Beauty


Puss n' Boots

Mary, Mary, quite contrary
How does your garden grow?

Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater
Had a wife and couldn't keep her-
Put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her, very well.