About Maxfield Parrish
Perhaps the first item of note when discussing Maxfield Parrish should be that his given name is Frederick. Maxfield was his paternal grandmother’s name, which Parrish took as his middle name, and which is, of course, the name by which the world knows him.
Parrish was an artist and illustrator who enjoyed tremendous success during his lifetime. He is arguably foremost among the artists from the golden age of American illustration, and his business acumen, long career, and prolific output have elevated him to the status of American icon. His body of work includes not only paintings, but also posters, magazine and book illustrations, murals, work for theatre productions, and advertising campaigns. By the 1920s, one out of every four American homes included a piece by Parrish.
Parrish’s commercial success is not what makes him special, however. His genius lay in his ability to connect with the consciousness of the American people. He understood the need that his audience felt for an escape; he painted windows into a world untarnished by the harsh, hushed ugliness and corruption that accompanied America’s emergence as a modern nation on the world stage. Parrish created idyllic landscapes and fantastical figures of impossible places, but he did so with such startling detail that the make-believe was rendered believable. Parrish’s brush gave form to a collective nostalgia that continues to resonate.
Because we still long for that escape. Now, perhaps, more than ever. Between the margins of Parrish’s work we find a beauty that is as timeless as it is undeniable. To understand Maxfield Parrish is to understand that, no matter our differences, a common thread connects us. We all want a better world. In Maxfield Parrish we discover a glimmer of hope that such a world is yet possible.
