#maxwell parrish

The magic and spirit embodied in Sleeping Beauty in the Wood is the result of Parrish's unique and intricate approach to painting. He possessed a calm and patient disposition that was perfectly suited to the arduous and time-consuming work his pictures demanded. He began with a white base that served to illuminate the image from the first layer up through to the last. Over this pigment was layered with varnish over and over to heighten the vibrancy of the colors and create a smooth, enamel-like surface. Parrish felt strongly about the purity of color and the resulting effect it made on the picture as a whole. In an unknown article, the artist expresses his aims concerning color, "Probably that which has a greater hold on me than any other quality is color. I feel it is a language but little understood; much less so than it used to be. To be a great colorist that is my modest ambition. I hope someday to express the child's attitude towards nature and things; for that is the purest and most unconscious." (Maxfield Parrish, Maxfield Parrish Papers, Hanover, New Hampshire) Employing his masterful use of glazes, the end result of Sleeping Beauty in the Wood is Parrish's keen ability to convey surface textures, most clearly demonstrated in the delicately rendered faces, the crispness of the marble stairs, the surface of the tree bark, the lush flowers and greenery and the voluminous folds of the dresses.

Maxfield Parrish was an American painter and illustrator. He worked on commission on books, advertising campaigns, magazines, and even sculpture. He was famous for his "girls on rocks" but his work went well beyond that series.

Collection: Private collection

One of the most popular artists of the twentieth century, Parrish embodied both the nineteenth century’s spiritual love of nature and the new century’s optimistic fascination with the machine. Deeply committed to the popularization of art, he became one of America's first "public" artists. After study at the Pennsylvania Academy and with famed illustrator Howard Pyle, Parrish quickly established himself as one of America’s most acclaimed painter-illustrators, specializing in images of fantasy and idyllic beauty. "Princess Parizade," like most of Parrish’s work, was commissioned as an illustration. 'Collier’s Weekly," one of Parrish's most frequent clients, contracted him to illustrate the Arabic tales known as "The Arabian Nights' Entertainments." Parrish's vividly colored and imaginatively realized conceptions of these popular stories were an instant hit with both children and adults and were subsequently issued in book form and also as commercial prints. "Princess Parizade," depicting the scene in which she finds the magical tree that will make her garden perfect, also marks the earliest appearance of Parrish's soon-to-be-ubiquitous "girl on the rock" imagery. The Academy also owns Parrish's monumental mosaic-mural "The Dream Garden," executed in 1915 for the lobby of the Curtis Building in Philadelphia.

Collection: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY, United States

#GentleComicHabit: Happy Birthday, Maxwell! 🥳

#GentleComicHabit: My Picture Book “Go Away!” Is Officially On Submission

Maxfield Parrish was an American painter and illustrator. He worked on commission on books, advertising campaigns, magazines, and even sculpture. He was famous for his "girls on rocks" but his work went well beyond that series.