Maxfield Parrish

(July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966)

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


The Young King of the Black Isles -


Parrish's work defies categorization
since he was part of no traditional movement or school,
and developed an original and individual style

The Dinkey Bird -


Stars -


Spirit of Night -


He would build up the depth in his paintings by photographing,
enlarging, projecting and tracing half- or full-size objects or figures.
Parrish then cut out and placed the images on his canvas,
covering them with thick, but clear, layers of glaze.
The result is realism of elegiac vivacity.
His work achieves a unique three-dimensional appearance,
which does not translate well to coffee table books.

Reverie -


Parrish devised many innovative techniques which no other major artist has successfully copied.

Prometheus -


Ecstasy -


Daybreak -


Cinderella (aka Enchantment) -


In 1931, he declared to the Associated Press, "I'm done with girls on rocks".
Opted instead to focus on landscapes.
Though never as popular as his earlier works, he profited from them.
He would often build models of the landscapes he wished to paint,
using various lighting setups before deciding on a preferred view,
which he would photograph as a basis for the painting.

Aquamarine -


He painted until he was 91 years old.

Evening -

(thanks wikipedia!)