Howard Pyle: A Record of His Illustrations and Writings

Reprint of the original edition (1921). Oversized Quarto. 1921. 2p. l., iii-x, 217, [24], 219-242p. front (port.) illus. Wilmington, Del., The Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, 1921. 1853-1911, American illustrator and writer, b. Wilmington, Del., studied at the Art Students League, New York City. His illustrations appeared regularly in Harper's Weekly, and in many other American magazines. He both wrote and illustrated tales of chivalry and adventure for young people, among them The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (1883), The Wonder Clock (1888), The Garden Behind the Moon (1895), and The Story of King Arthur and His Knights (1903). His illustrations are of marked individuality. Scenes from both medieval folklore and American history are rendered with engaging simplicity and penetrating realism. Pyle's reconstructions of the past, of which he had an exhaustive knowledge, were uniquely believable. He also painted murals and taught painting. In 1894 he became directorof illustration at Drexel Institute, Philadelphia. In 1900 he started the Howard Pyle School of Art next to his own studio in Wilmington, and classes were offered free to a limited number of students. A large collection of his pictures is preservedat the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts. Pyle wrote many of the books and stories he illustrated, and though he will always be remembered first for his art, many of his books are considered classics and still in print or available in recent reprints. Most of these were illustrated with his distinctive pen & ink style that hearkened back to the wood-engraved images that were common during his childhood and early years of his career. He wasn't restricted to this more-formal style, but seemed to gravitate towards it in pen illustrations for his own work. In all over 750 books illustrated by Pyle are included. Besterman 5281.