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| Evening Shadows, 1950 |
Mesmerizing, exuberant, intimate- Maxfield Parrish captures the vibrancy of life in his artworks. I know that sounds like trite praise. Maybe, in my urgency to do his work justice, I did fall back on ordinary platitudes- but- Just Look At His Work! I was lucky enough to see his illustrations in a book when I was a child so I have enjoyed his art for years. It mesmerized me then as it does now. His illustrated characters looked to me like they were inviting me into their lives and I believe Parrish intended for me to feel that way.
Many years later, when I saw the 1953 movie House of Wax* starring Vincent Price (the first 3D film ), I thought of Maxfield Parrish. This was partially, I admit, because of the 3D attributes of both. It was mostly, though, because I would expect to scratch the surface of any of Parrish's works ( if one would do that to art) and find the models still underneath. If a landscape, a tree, or the sun setting- the colors and depiction are just right. If a person- the slant of their eyes, the humor in their face seems too real to be a painting or anything that could be created by a human hand. He was the perfect illustrator for children's books because he captured WONDER (used as a noun).
You can certainly read about Maxfield Parrish's technique and his use of photography and models that aided him in his craft which to me, far from impairing the beauty of the work makes it even more intriging if possible in many places. I am not going to put any links here because, frankly, I don't know which accounts are the most accurate
Many years later, when I saw the 1953 movie House of Wax* starring Vincent Price (the first 3D film ), I thought of Maxfield Parrish. This was partially, I admit, because of the 3D attributes of both. It was mostly, though, because I would expect to scratch the surface of any of Parrish's works ( if one would do that to art) and find the models still underneath. If a landscape, a tree, or the sun setting- the colors and depiction are just right. If a person- the slant of their eyes, the humor in their face seems too real to be a painting or anything that could be created by a human hand. He was the perfect illustrator for children's books because he captured WONDER (used as a noun).
You can certainly read about Maxfield Parrish's technique and his use of photography and models that aided him in his craft which to me, far from impairing the beauty of the work makes it even more intriging if possible in many places. I am not going to put any links here because, frankly, I don't know which accounts are the most accurate
An illustrator of children's books, a painter of landscapes, advertisements, and magazine covers, Parrish's work was once ubiquitous. In the 1935 film Top Hat starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Astaire's character describes Edward Everett Horton's black eye as resembling a "Maxfield Parrish sunrise." Lapus lazuli blue and cobalt blue were associated with him to the extent that cobalt blue was also known as "Parrish blue". Today, you have to work a bit harder to see his artwork. For many years Parrish was considered part of St. Gaudens' Cornish Art Colony in New Hampshire having followed his father there in 1898 and dying there in 1966. Dartmouth College in New Hampshire has Parrish's papers and correspondence housed in their Rauner Special Collections Library. The National Museum of American Illustration in Rhode Island has some of his works. If you are in New York City, check out the St. Regis Hotel on East 55th Street and say hello to King Cole. Online you can find many images of his art and check to see which ones might be in museums near you. In the meantime, this YouTube link will show you what Norman Rockwell had to say about Maxfield Parrish in an exerpt from the 1967 film, Parrish Blue.
* An earlier version of the movie from 1933, The Mystery of the Wax Museum. Storyline based on a play or short story by Charles S. Belden.
