Maxfield Parrish- Daybreak
I saw this year’s schedule for the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown and was excited to see that on it there was an exhibit of work from the great Maxfield Parrish. Titled Maxfield Parrish: The Art of Light and Illusion, this show opens May 23 and features 45 pieces– paintings, prints and sketches– as well as some of the props for which he was well known for using. Here is how the Fenimore describes Parrish’s career on their site:
As one of the most popular American artists of the twentieth century, Maxfield Parrish created fantastic images of fairy-tale figures and idyllic landscapes in a style that was all his own. Through a prolific career that spanned from the 1890s through the 1960s, Parrish became one of America’s first truly “public” artists. The mass reproduction of his paintings—originally intended as book and magazine illustrations, advertisements, calendars, and murals—ensured his reputation as one of the most widely-known figures in the history of art. It has been said that in 1925 a lithograph of his most well-known painting Daybreak [seen at the top of this page] could be found in one out of every four American homes. Parrish’s magical artwork continues to capture the imagination and inspire today’s artists, musicians, and filmmakers.
I have written here before that he was an influence on my work, especially in the luscious quality of color that he used in almost all of his work. I liked his better known works, such as Daybreak, here at the top, but it was his lesser known work, quiet landscapes with compositions that intensified the quietness of the solitude they portrayed, that were my favorites. But I have never seen many of his pieces in person and am really looking forward to being able to closely examine them in the intimate space of the Fenimore. There is something about seeing the hand of the artist on the surface of a painting that makes me feel somehow connected to the artist, that allows me to imagine them at work at that particular moment when they made that mark.
If you have seen much of my work you will probably recognize Parrish’s influence that I took from the painting below, Aquamarine. The shape of the tree and the promontory on which it stands, the proportions of sky and sea, and the way the land sits on the horizon all found their way into my own vocabulary. More than those obvious elements was the emotional tone that I saw in it and wanted for my own work.
Just great work and a show to which I am really looking forward to seeing up close.
Redtree Times 