Delaware Art Museum: Howard Pyle, American Illustrator

Across from the American Art galleries on the other side of the Fusco Grand Hall are another trio of galleries.  All are dedicated to the works of Wilmington native son, Howard Pyle.   Long before I discovered the range and genius of Mr. Pyle, I found a copy of one of his books, "Otto of the Silver Hand." It became one of my many real alouds to my fourth graders over the years.  In essence, it's the tale of a weak boy, ill suited for life in the world he finds himself, befriended by a gentle monk who teaches him to both know himself, and accept his destiny.  It's a little clunky, but it works as a serial read wonderfully well, and the illustrations by Pyle are sumptuous. 

From the wall information at the entrance to the first gallery:

"Howard Pyle--artist, writer, and teacher--was among America's most famous illustrators and storytellers.  He was born in Wilmington in 1853 and after three years of study in Philadelphia, he began his career in New York City in the late 1870s.  By 1879, when he established his studio in Wilmington, he had already sold a number of illustrations to leading magazines.  For the next thirty years, as Pyle worked in a rapidly expanding publishing industry, his lively stories and images of dashing pirates, valiant adventurers, and historic heroes reached millions of people.  His book and magazine illustrations, whether in color or black and white, still animate the written words of fiction, history, fantasy and romance.  Eloquent gestures and expressions, evocative lighting, picturesque settings, and theatrical compositions combine to create an expressive and emotional intensity.

"'Project your mind into your subject until you actually live it.  Make your pictures live.'  These words--spoken by Pyle to his students--convey his passion for the art of illustration, a passion he passed on to the generation of artists who have become known as the Brandywine school.  Today, illustrators, filmmakers, and animators still recognize and celebrate his lasting imprint on the nation's visual culture.

"After Pyle's death in 1911, the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, now the Delaware Art Museum, was founded to preserve and exhibit his works of art."

And there you have it, the raison d'etre of the Delaware Art Museum!

If you are unfamiliar with his work, you can surely recognize in it a certain Norman Rockwell sensibility; however, Pyle proceeds Rockwell by over a generation.  Pyle is the real deal.  He does indeed paint pirates!  And fairies, and Patriots...in his works, he's created the myth of America's founding along with all the other "myths" and fine tales of valor that he projects his optimistic mind into and brings to life on the canvas.

"Which Shall Be Captain?" 1911

from "The Buccaneers," by Don C. Seitz

January issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine, 1911

From the wall placard: "In the 1800s, as historians began to regard the age of piracy as over, pirates took hold of the popular imagination.  The drama of sea life, the romance of battle, and hte charm of the handsome outlaw came together in literary and visual art, creating a vision that survives today in popular idealized pirate images.

"Pyle's painting appeared with the poem "The Buccaneers," which chronicles a fight over unearthed treasure.  Observing the combat is a pirate crew described by the poet as "ragged, scarred, haggard and lean."  Through dressed for the part, several seem like humorous caricatures rather than desperate criminals."

"Eileen slipped the ring into the nest" 1904

from "The Carming of Estercel," by Grace Rhys

June issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine, 1904

"An Attack on a Galleon" 1905

from "The Fate of a Treasure Town," by Howard Pyle

December issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine, 1905

Of the three galleries comprising this aspect of the museum's collection, perhaps the most interesting is actual the one filled with monochromatic works (Black and White).  In so many ways, it's a lost art today.

"Another rush of breakers pitching the boat, corklike into the air" 1900

from "A Life for a Life," by Howard Pyle

January issue of Scribner's Magazine, 1900

"Bringing in the May" 1884

from "A May-Day Idyl of the Olden Time," by Howard Pyle

May issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine, 1884

from "The Garden Behind the Moon: A Real Story of the Moon Angel," 

by Howard Pyle, 1895

In 1889, Howard and Anne Pyle's oldest child, Sellers, died unexpectedly from an illness at home while they were in the Caribbean, where the artist was researching locales for his pirate illustrations. Six years later, Pyle wrote and illustrated this tale as a gift to the memory of Sellers. 

It is the story of David, a young boy whose imaginary journey takes him from his earthly life to a place beyond the moon and back again.  Among his adventures, David learns to polish stars for the Moon Angel, tames a winged horse, defeats an evil giant, and wins the hand of a princess.  The character David is a reflection of Sellers, and Pyle described his lost son as "a noble little fellow of six years old...and...a child of deep mind and noble generosity of character."

"The Burning Ship" 1898

December issue of Collier's Weekly, 1904

[The illustration was printed as a full page image without any association to a text]

Take a moment and compare it to the other image of the Pirate Galleon painted in full color.