A Love of the Past: A Passion for Maxfield Parrish

Friday, November 26, 2010

A Passion for Maxfield Parrish

Contentment by Maxfield Parrish

I am certainly not alone in my love of Maxfield Parrish's work, nor do I claim to be an expert. I still have so much to learn about this most amazing artist. While I have collected a number of books on his works, and have some decent reproductions, vintage and antique versions of his work are still commanding good prices in today's market. I remember, even as a little girl, being enchanted by his capture of light, thinking that Daybreak, his most famous painting, was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and that somewhere young women really were that beautiful and lived in such places. What is it about Parrish's paintings that draw us into them, as if we are sitting beside the beautiful men, women and other characters depicted so fantastically? For me, it is because his paintings are the ultimate in romantic fantasy...the colors, the landscapes and the way that his dreamy depictions make us believe that urns can easily balance on the side of cliffs, that women can wade through rapids in flowing dresses, or gaze out over canyons from atop the clouds, and that young men with long locks really do ride on rope swings in the sky. His techniques are legendary in the art world...how he would often photograph himself and his daughter, her friend, Kitty Owens, or his mistress Sue (his wife and he were estranged for years before her death and his mistress lived with him until his own death at 95 in the house he lived in for most or all of his life in New Hampshire). He was a master of glazes and colors, so much so that the color "Parrish Blue" was named for him. It is said that, at the height of his popularity, one in four American homes featured a Maxfield Parrish, whether it was an illustrated children's book, a print or one of the hugely popular advertising calendars that featured his work. While I was in Florida last week, I missed out on a vintage Parrish print at auction, in the original frame, being outbid by a snowbird (that's what Southerners call the folks who come down from the North to the South every winter) seated in the back, who obviously had deeper pockets than me. So for now, I will have to be happy with the books I have collected. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I have enjoyed perusing these paintings all these years, while dreaming that I am one of those beautiful women, leaning against a wall outside a magnificent villa, next to an amazing waterfall, without a care in the world.

I encourage everyone to click on each image in order to appreciate the amazing detail and realism in these wonderful works.