American Illustrations in the Time of Maxfield Parrish

One of the best-loved American illustrators, Maxfield Parrish (1870–1966) is the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, on view from June 19 through September 25. In celebration of this retrospective, the Philadelphia Museum of Art presents a selection of American illustrations contemporary with Parrish's seventy-year career, which began in Philadelphia, where he was born and received his early art training. Many of the artists represented in this installation knew Parrish. He was a classmate of William Glackens and John Sloan at the Pennsylvania Academy in 1892, and Jessie Willcox Smith, Elizabeth Shippen Green, Violet Oakley, and Henry McCarter were part of the same art circles in Philadelphia in the 1890s. Parrish may have studied briefly with Howard Pyle at Drexel Institute before leaving Philadelphia for New Hampshire in 1898.