Howard Pyle | |
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| Born | (1853-03-05)March 5, 1853 Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. |
| Died | November 9, 1911(1911-11-09) (aged 58) |
| Known for | Illustration, writing for children |
| Notable work | |
| Style | Brandywine School |
| Spouse | Anne Poole |
| Relatives | Katharine Pyle (sister) |
| Signature | |
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Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an Americanillustrator,painter, andauthor, primarily of books for young people. He was a native ofWilmington,Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life inFlorence, Italy.
In 1894, he began teaching illustration at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry (nowDrexel University). Among his students there wereViolet Oakley,Maxfield Parrish, andJessie Willcox Smith.[1] After 1900, he founded his own school of art and illustration named the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art. Scholar Henry C. Pitz later used the termBrandywine School for the illustration artists and Wyeth family artists of the Brandywine region, several of whom had studied with Pyle.[2] He had a lasting influence on a number of artists who became notable in their own right;N. C. Wyeth,Frank Schoonover,Thornton Oakley,Allen Tupper True, Stanley Arthurs, and numerous others studied under him.
His 1883 classic publicationThe Merry Adventures of Robin Hood remains in print, and his other books frequently have medieval European settings, including a four-volume set onKing Arthur. He is also well known for his illustrations ofpirates, and is credited with creating what has become the modern stereotype of pirate dress.[3]He published his first novelOtto of the Silver Hand in 1888. He also illustrated historical and adventure stories for periodicals such asHarper's Magazine andSt. Nicholas Magazine. His novelMen of Iron was adapted as the movieThe Black Shield of Falworth (1954).
Pyle travelled toFlorence, Italy in 1910 to study mural painting. He died there in 1911 of a suddenkidney infection (Bright's disease).
Pyle was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the son of William Pyle and Margaret Churchman Painter. As a child, he attended private schools[5] and was interested in drawing and writing from a very young age. He was an indifferent student, but his parents encouraged him to study art, particularly his mother.[1] He studied for three years at the studio of F. A. Van der Wielen in Philadelphia,[6] and this constituted the whole of his artistic training, aside from a few lessons at theArt Students League of New York.[1]
In 1876, he visited the island ofChincoteague off Virginia and was inspired by what he saw. He wrote and illustrated an article about the island and submitted it toScribner's Monthly. One of the magazine's owners was Roswell Smith, who encouraged him to move to New York and pursue illustration professionally.[1] Pyle initially struggled in New York; his lack of professional experience made it difficult for him to translate his ideas into forms for publication. He was encouraged by several working artists, however, includingEdwin Austin Abbey,A. B. Frost, andFrederick S. Church.
He finally published a double-paged spread in theHarper's Weekly issue of March 9, 1878 and was paid $75—five times what he had expected.[6] He became increasingly successful and was an established artist by the time that he returned to Wilmington in 1880.[1] Pyle continued illustrating for magazines. He also collaborated on several books, particularly in American history. He wrote and illustrated his own stories, beginning withThe Merry Adventures of Robin Hood in 1883. This book won international attention from critics such asWilliam Morris.[1] Over the following decades, he published many more illustrated works for children, many of which are still in print today.
Pyle married singer Anne Poole on April 12, 1881, and the couple had seven children.[6] In 1889, he and his wife sailed to Jamaica, leaving their children in the care of relatives. While they were overseas, their son Sellers died unexpectedly. This loss likely inspired his children's bookThe Garden Behind the Moon, which is about death and bears the dedication: "To the little Boy in the Moon Garden This Book is dedicated by His Father."[6][7]
From 1894 to 1900, he taught illustration at the Drexel Institute. In 1900, he created his own school in Wilmington where he taught a small number of students in depth. In 1903, Pyle painted his first murals for the Delaware Art Museum. He took up mural painting more seriously in 1906 and paintedThe Battle of Nashville inSaint Paul, as well as two other murals for courthouses inNew Jersey[1] (the Essex and Hudson County Courthouses).
Pyle developed his own ideas for illustrating pirate dress, as few examples existed of authentic pirate outfits and few, if any, drawings had been preserved. He created a flamboyant style incorporating elements ofRomani dress. His work influenced the design of costumes for movie pirates fromErrol Flynn toJohnny Depp. It has been noted as highly impractical for working sailors.[3]
In 1910, Pyle and his family went toItaly where he planned to study theold masters. Suffering poor health, he felt depressed and drained of energy. After one year in the country, he suffered a kidney infection and died inFlorence at the age of 58.[1]
In 1937 his niece, Caroline Ashton Pyle, married his studentN. C. Wyeth's sonNathaniel Convers Wyeth.[8]
Pyle wrote and illustrated a number of books, in addition to numerous illustrations done forHarper's Weekly, other periodical publications, and various works of fiction for children and young adults.
Pyle synthesized many traditionalRobin Hood legends and ballads in this work, while toning them down to make them suitable for children. For instance, he modified the late 17th century ballad "Robin Hood's Progress to Nottingham", changing it from Robin killing fourteen foresters for not honoring a bet to Robin defending himself against an attempt on his life by one of the foresters. Pyle has Robin kill only two men, one who shoots at him first when he was a youth, the other a hated assassin namedGuy of Gisborne whom the Sheriff sent to slay him. Tales are changed in which Robin steals all that an ambushed traveler carried, such as "Robin Hood and the Bishop of Hereford", so that the victim keeps a third and another third is dedicated to the poor.
Pyle did not have much concern for historical accuracy, but he renamed the queen in the story "Robin Hood and Queen Katherine" asEleanor (of Aquitaine). This made her compatible historically with KingRichard the Lion-Hearted, with whom Robin eventually makes peace.
Many of the tales in the Robin Hood book dated to the late Middle Ages. His achievement was to integrate them into a unified story, which he also illustrated. For example, he included "Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar" in the narrative order to reintroduceFriar Tuck. He needed a cooperative priest for the wedding of outlawAllan a Dale to his sweetheart Ellen. In the original "A Gest of Robyn Hode", the life is saved of an anonymous wrestler who had won a bout but was likely to be murdered because he was a stranger. Pyle adapted it and gave the wrestler the identity ofDavid of Doncaster, one of Robin's band in the story "Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow". In his novelistic treatment of the tales, he thus developed several characters who had been mentioned in only one ballad, such as David of Doncaster orArthur a Bland.
Men of Iron is an 1891 novel about squire Myles Falworth who hopes to become a knight, thereby redeeming his family's honor. His father was falsely implicated in a plot to killKing Henry IV. The adventure tale follows Myles through his intensive training for knighthood and ends with him becoming a knight and challenging the wicked Lord Brookhurst Alban to trial by combat.
The novel was adapted into the 1954 filmThe Black Shield of Falworth starringTony Curtis andJanet Leigh.
The remaining etchings are titled: “Friar”Bacon in His Study, and"Izaak" Walton
Pyle was widely respected during his life and continues to be well regarded by illustrators and fine artists. His contemporaryVincent van Gogh wrote in a letter to his brother Theo that Pyle's work "struck me dumb with admiration."[12]
Pyle's reputation stems from his innovation in form and illustration, creating an American school of illustration and art, and for the revival of children's books. His illustrations are vivid and imaginative, yet not overly fantastic or contrived, lending them an air of colorful realism.Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism notes:
As time passed, Pyle's historical position as the founder of a distinctly American school of illustration and art, as the innovator who introduced the total-design approach, and as the great reinventor of children's books, would outshine any single work he did, so that he is remembered less for any one project than for his total stance.[6]
He had a lasting influence on a number of artists who became notable in their own right. Some of his more notable students wereN. C. Wyeth,Frank Schoonover,Elenore Abbott,Ethel Franklin Betts,Anna Whelan Betts,Harvey Dunn,Clyde O. DeLand,Philip R. Goodwin,Thornton Oakley,Violet Oakley,Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle,Olive Rush,Blanche Grant, Ethel Leach,Allen Tupper True,Elizabeth Shippen Green,Arthur E. Becher,William James Aylward,Jessie Willcox Smith, andCharlotte Harding. Pyle taught his students at hishome and studio in Wilmington, which is still standing and is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places. Pyle was an early member ofThe Franklin Inn Club in Philadelphia.
According to Robert Vitz, the Howard Pyle School of Art developed a common set of themes in its work: attention torealism and expression of optimism and a faith in the goodness of America.[6] His work also continued to inspire well after his death; for example, comic book artistTony Harris (born 1969) has cited Pyle as a major influence on his work.[13]
Pyle is remembered primarily as an illustrator, but his books have also been analyzed for their literary qualities, particularlyThe Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. Taimi M. Ranta and Jill P. May have examined their influence on children's literature. May writes from a feminist sensibility.[6] Susan F. Beegel has studied his influence onErnest Hemingway.[6] Alethia Helbig has reviewed his poetry, which since his death has not been as highly valued as it was in his own time.[6]
Malcolm Usrey wrote thatOtto of the Silver Hand
has all the marks of a good historical novel: it has an exciting plot, with ample conflict and believable characters; it uses language and dialect appropriate to its setting and the characters; it has a significant, universal theme, and it presents the details of daily life in Germany of the thirteenth century accurately and unobtrusively, making the period real and alive.[6]
Unless noted otherwise, all titles are listed inThe Dictionary of American Biography.[1]
