Howard Pyle: His Life-- His Work : a Comprehensive Bibliography and Pictorial Record of Howard Pyle: Illustrator, Author, Teacher : Father of American Illustration, America's Foremost Illustrator, Volume 1

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Oak Knoll Press, 2004 - Reference - 872 pages
First edition, one of only 60 numbered and signed sets bound thus (Museum Edition) and containing an extra eight page signature at the beginning. Contains a tipped in wood-engraving pulled from the original block and printed on Mohawk Superfine by Leonard Seastone at his Tideline Press. At the dawn of the 20th century, Howard Pyle was America's most famous and influential illustrator. Through the illustrated pages of Harper's, Scribner's and Century magazines, the American public first became acquainted with the illustrator that they would come to love. Both by example and through his teaching, Pyle molded and influenced generations of young artists who have continued his unique vision of illustration far beyond his own lifetime. Published 93 years after the death of Howard Pyle, this book celebrates the enduring and far-reaching achievements of America's foremost illustrator. Illustrated with over 3300 images, this important research tool represents the complete record of all known Howard Pyle illustrations, hundreds of which have not been reproduced since their original publication over 100 years ago. Paul Preston Davis, with exhaustive research and dogged perseverance, has produced a much-needed resource for the study of Howard Pyle and American illustration. His work greatly expands upon the data originally collected by Willard S. Morse and Gertrude Brincklé in 1921. For the first time, full-color images (approx. 1.25 x 2.25 inches) of each of Pyle's published and unpublished works are provided in a single source. Most importantly for the researcher, Davis has indexed and re-indexed the information, creating a tool that is as easy to use as it is valuable. This remarkable and comprehensive set of books embodies years of research and will be valued and treasured by researchers, scholars, librarians, and collectors alike. Co-published with The Delaware Art Museum.

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About the author (2004)

Howard Pyle was born March 5, 1853 in Wilmington, Delaware. Pyle was a Quaker and attended the Friends' School in Wilmington. At sixteen he began three years of daily commutes to Philadelphia in order to study under the Belgian artist Van der Weilen. After three years of study, he set up a studio in Wilmington and helped his father in his leather business while beginning his fledgling career as an illustrator. His earliest work was published in Scribner's Monthly in 1876. He moved to New York, where he was associated to some extent with the Art Students' league of New York City during 1876-77. His early illustrations, short stories and poems appeared in the leading New York periodicals in 1876-79. He was also an artist and writer for Harpers Weekly. Pyle's color pictures appeared in issues of Century, Everybody's and Harpers monthly magazines from 1900 to 1911. Pyle devoted his art work almost entirely to the production of illustrations which appeared in periodicals and books. He also shared his views and skills with the student body at his 1896 classes at the Drexel Institute of Arts and Sciences in Philadelphia, his summer classes at Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and at his own school in Wilmington, Delaware - started in 1903. Pyle's students were to revolutionize the illustration world. Today they are collectively known as The Brandywine School. Pyle is the author and illustrator of the following works: The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Nottinghamshire published in 1883; Within the Capes published in 1885; Pepper and Salt, or Seasoning for Young Folk published in 1887; The Rose of Paradise also published in 1887; The Wonder Clock or Four and Twenty Marvelous Tales published in 1888; Otto of the Silver Hand also published in 1888; A Modern Aladdin published in 1891); Men of Iron, a Romance of Chivalry published in 1892; Jack Ballister's Fortune published in 1894; Twilight Land published in 1895; and The Garden Behind the Moon published in 1895. In 1910, Howard Pyle relocated his family to Florence, Italy where he hoped to study and pursue the painting of murals. It was his second trip abroad. On November 9 of 1911, he suddenly became ill and died of a kidney infection at the age of 58. His ashes were interred there.

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