JUNE 2019
June is Parrish Murals Month
Maxfield Parrish did the bulk of his murals work between the years 1910 and 1919. Parrish accepted a commission in 1910 from Edward Bok, editor of the Ladies Home Journal magazine, to create a series of 17 large vertical format decorations to fill the spaces between the windows of the ladies dining room on the top floor of the original Curtis Publishing Building bordering Independence Square in Philadelphia.
A Rose for Reward (1911)
These decorations constituted far and away Parrish’s largest mural project. Each panel measured an astounding 10 1/2 feet high by 3 1/4 feet wide. All were done on canvas within a 2 year period, and cemented to the walls of the dining room, the last three panels arriving early in 1913.
Parrish complained to Edward Bok that the Curtis project had forced him to keep another important client waiting. That “important client” was none other than Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, whose murals we will talk more about next month.
A Call to Joy (1911)
The set of photographs of the Curtis murals were a gift to Alma Gilbert in 1990 by John W. Merriam, successor owner of the Curtis Publishing Building. Mr. Merriam is credited with detaching and preserving all of the murals before remodeling the building.
Red Cross Panel (1919)
Lastly, we illustrate this month a Parrish work done at the end of the First World War, showing of two of panels of a four-panel display work honoring the Red Cross. The complete four-panel work was used as an illustration in the book Art and the Great War in 1919.
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Original Parrish Art For Sale
We thought our readers might enjoy seeing a couple of very interesting examples of Parrish’s art, and which are available for purchase at very reasonable prices.
An original full sized 1896 show poster autographed personally by the artist, which is very hard to come by. By “full sized” we refer to the full poster dimensions of 28″ x 44″. This is Ludwig Catalog item #47.
Autographed 1896 Show Poster
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In regards to our 2019 exhibit of Parrish originals currently for sale, please view all the paintings, watercolors, and drawings by clicking on the Art for Sale link above.
Contact Alma Gilbert for the full catalogue and price list: agilbert@almagilbert.com
