[Artist] Maxfield Parrish

[AJ]

Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he was the son of painter and etcher Stephen Parrish. His mother was Elizabeth Bancroft. He began drawing for his own amusement as a child. He was raised in a Quaker society. His given name was Frederick Parrish, but he later adopted the maiden name of his paternal grandmother, Maxfield, as his middle name, and later as his professional name. Young Parrish's parents encouraged his talent. In 1884, his parents took Parrish to Europe. He toured England, Italy, and France. Parrish was exposed to architecture and the paintings from the old masters. They returned in 1886. During their travels, however, Parrish studied at the Paris school of a Dr. Kornemann.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxfiel...

Other sources:

http://artpassions.net/parrish/parris...

http://www.art.com/gallery/id--a34/ma...

http://americanillustration.org/proje...

[AJ]

"Princess Parizade Bringing Home the Singing Tree from Arabian Nights (1906)"

[Wendel]

A link to the story of Princess Parizade.

[Heather]

Wow, thank you both Wendel and Aaron. This looks interesting! Love the painting!

[Geoffrey]

^Parrish`s work is a real crowd pleaser and is most beguiling. However, it´s like a bag of Doritos, fun for the senses but hardly nutritional.

[AJ]

Doritos is probably accurate, two words that come to mind if I had to describe his work off the top of my head would be "staged" and "otherworldly".

[Heather]

I agree with you both, Geoffrey and Aaron. Good descriptions.

[Terri]

I absolutely love Ecstasy

http://maxfieldparrish.info/wp/wp-con...

[AJ]

Surreal sort of backgrounds.

[Heather]

Terri wrote: "I absolutely love Ecstasy

http://maxfieldparrish.info/wp/wp-con..."

I really like this! It is really neat aesthetically that the white clouds almost completely surround her with the blue sky making her the clear focus. Then her flowing hair fades and gets lost in the clouds. I like that.

[Haaze]

Err, I disagree about the Doritos analogy. I find Parrish quite pleasing to the eye and actually admire his interesting approach by combining photographic techniques with painting. I can think about plenty of other art that would fit better in the Doritos category. Parrish has some quite beautiful works that have lived in my mind's eye for years as an inspiration to the muses.

[Haaze]

Heather wrote: "Terri wrote: "I absolutely love Ecstasy

http://maxfieldparrish.info/wp/wp-con..."

I really like this! It is really neat aesthetically that the white clouds almost completely ..."

Nice description, Heather!!! :)

[Heather]

Thank you, Haaze!

[AJ]

Doritos are good, but I haven't had them in years.

[Ruth]

Maxfield Parrish is often thought of as being more of an illustrator than a fine art painter. I agree that much of his work is pleasant to look at. But after the first sugar rush, I don't think there's much there.

[Geoffrey]

Exactly, Ruth. Has anyone noted his influence on the LORD OF THE RINGS scenery?

[AJ]

Geoffrey wrote: "Exactly, Ruth. Has anyone noted his influence on the LORD OF THE RINGS scenery?"

Are you referring to the Brothers Hildebrandt or some other illustrator or film sets?

[Geoffrey]

There are several scenes that were strongly in the Parrish vein. I have no idea who the Brothers are. I remember clearly the scene in the Hobbit, a comparable one in the LOTR in which Saruman, Gandalf, and our Australian actress are under a cupula with columns, hovering over a huge cliff and the scene beyond is a Parrish take off. Also the last scene in LOTR when Frodo and Sam bid each other adieu and the protagonists sail off into eternity.

[AJ]

I've got another topic for the Brothers, if you note their backgrounds are similarly surreal, with foreground and background equally detailed so they almost compete with each other.