Howard Pyle (1853, Wilmington Del. - 1911, Florence) was one of America’s most popular illustrators and storytellers at the end of the 19th century during a period of explosive growth in the publishing industry. His illustrations appeared in magazines like Harper’s Monthly, St. Nicholas, and Scribner’s Magazine, gaining him both national and international exposure. The broad appeal of his imagery made him a celebrity in his lifetime.
Pyle studied at the Art Student’s League, New York City, and first attracted attention by his line drawings after the style of Albrecht Dürer. His magazine and book illustrations are among the finest of the turn-of-the-century period in the Art Nouveau style. Pyle wrote original children’s stories as well as retelling old fairy tales. Many of Pyle’s children’s stories, illustrated by the author with vividness and historical accuracy, have become classics—most notably The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (1883); Otto of the Silver Hand (1888); Jack Ballister’s Fortunes (1895); and his own folktales, Pepper & Salt (1886), The Wonder Clock (1888), and The Garden Behind the Moon (1895).
In 1894, he began teaching illustration at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry. Among his students there wer valet Oakley, Maxfield Parrish, and Jessie Wikcox Smith. After 1900, he founded his own school of art and illustration named the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art. Scholar Henry C. Pitz later used the term Brandywine School for the illustration artists and Wyeth family artists of the Brandywine region, several of whom had studied with Pyle. He had a lasting influence on a number of artists who became notable in their own right; N.C. Wyeth, Frank Schoonover, Thornton Oakley, Allen Tupper True, Stanley Arthur, and numerous others studied under him.
Later Pyle undertook mural paintings, executing, among others, The Battle of Nashville (1906) for the capitol at St. Paul, Minn. Dissatisfied with his style in painting, he went to Italy for further study but died shortly afterward. Pyle had established a free schoolof art in his home in Wilmington, where many successful American illustrators received their education.
Pyle travelled to Florence, Italy in 1910 to study mural painting. He died there in 1911 of a sudden kidney infection (Bright’s Disease).
For earlier works by Howard Pyle see part 1 & 2 also.
This is part 3 of a 13-part series on the works of Howard Pyle:
1886 Pepper and Salt or Seasoning for Young Folk by Howard Pyle:
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Pepper and Salt or Seasoning for Young Folk
Front Cover |
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| Title Page |
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| A Disappointment |
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| A Tale of a Tub |
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| A Verse with a Moral but no Name |
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| Claus & His Wonderful Staff |
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Claus & His Wonderful Staff
Claus and the Mater of Black Arts |
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Claus & His Wonderful Staff
Venturesome Boldness |
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Claus & His Wonderful Staff
Superficial Culture |
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Claus & His Wonderful Staff
The Master is Angry |
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Claus & His Wonderful Staff
Claus listens to the talk of the two ravens |
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Claus & His Wonderful Staff
Claus and the Manikin |
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Claus & His Wonderful Staff
Hans discovers Claus's Luck |
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| Fancy and Fact |
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Farmer Grigg's Boggart
Farmer George Griggs |
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Farmer Grigg's Boggart
Dame Mally Griggs |
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Farmer Grigg's Boggart
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Farmer Grigg's Boggart
The Departure |
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Farmer Grigg's Boggart
The Boggart Rejoices |
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How Dame Margery Twist saw more than was good for her
The little man and the great horse |
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How Dame Margery Twist saw more than was good for her
Ye Song of ye Gossips |
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How Dame Margery Twist saw more than was good for her
A Victim to Science |
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How Dame Margery Twist saw more than was good for her
Play & Ernest |
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How Dame Margery Twist saw more than was good for her
The accident of birth |
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| Moral Blindness |
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| Overconfidence |
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| Pride in Distress |
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| Profession and Practice |
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| The Force of Need |
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The Skillful Huntsman
Jacob's Mother & the Herr Mayor |
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The Skillful Huntsman
Jacob and The Red One |
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The Skillful Huntsman
Jacob and the Magic Plough |
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The Skillful Huntsman
Jacob and the Red One go hunting together |
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The Skillful Huntsman
Ye song of ye foolish old woman |
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The Skillful Huntsman
A newspaper puff |
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The Skillful Huntsman
Three Fortunes |
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| Ye Romantic Adventures of Three Tailors |
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| Ye sad story concerning one innocent little Lamb and four wicked Wolves |
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| Ye Song of ye Rajah and ye Fly |
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| Ye Story of a Blue China Plate |
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| Ye Two Wishes |
* * * * *
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1885-86 Surprised by the Hero of Seventy Fights - The Good Lord James of Douglas
wood engraving after the painting |
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1886 Bringing the powder to Bunker Hill
Harper's Monthly, July 1886 |
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1886 While yet her cheek was bright with summer bloom
from Thomas Buchanan Read’s The Closing Scene
published by J. B. Lippincott in 1886 |
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1887 Deianeira and the dying centaur Nessus,
a story of The Golden Age by James Baldwin
published by Charles Scribner’s Sons |
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1887 Looking into the Prussian lines from the Château de la Muette
Scribner's Magazine, February 1887 |
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1887 Marooned
wood engraving 14.8 x 22.5 cm ( image ) |
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1887 Marooned
wood engraving 123 x 194 cm ( image )
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA |
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c1887 On the Tortugas
wood engraving 12.3 x 19.6 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA |
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1888 Away they rode with clashing hoofs and ringing armour
ink on illustration board 19.5 x 14.6 cm
Delaware Art Museum |
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| 1888 Morgan at Porto Bello |
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1888 Washington the Young Surveyor
wood engraving after Howard Pyle 13 x 9 cm
Harper's Monthly
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC |
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1889 "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."
Harper's Magazine, June 1880 |
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1889 A Teeny, Tiny Form
from "Wisdom’s Wages and Folly’s Pay" |
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1889 An Interrupted Performance
engraving after an 1878 artwork |
