Maxfield Parrish: Early 20th Century Illustrator

In keeping with the last two blogs, I thought I would continue to spotlight American illustrators. Maxfield Parrish was a popular illustrator and painter from the early part of the 20th century. His most famous painting Daybreak(first photo) is still popular to this day. He was born Frederick Parrish in Philadelphia in 1870. His father, Stephen, was also a painter and a primary influence. In 1900 Parrish contracted tuberculosis and then suffered a nervous breakdown. Around then he switched to oil painting started creating the luminous almost magical landscapes that made him popular.

Parrish attended Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Most of his paintings emerged from his home studio in New Hampshire. He was also an illustrator of books, magazine covers, advertisements, and painted murals.

Parrish's neo-classicist paintings have an ethereal, glowing, magical atmosphere of dawn or twilight, most well known are his idealistic images of women on the rocks.