EXHIBITIONS
Howard Pyle, His Students & the Golden Age of American Illustration
Currently on Display
Howard Pyle, His Students & the Golden Age of American Illustration is an exhibition featuring original paintings, works on paper, and accompanying artifacts that highlight the work of Howard Pyle, known as the “Father of American Illustration”, and the generation of celebrated illustrators he taught. In 1894, Pyle founded the first School of Illustration in America at Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry, now Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA, which shaped the way illustrators created artworks thereafter. Howard Pyle taught at Drexel Institute until 1900 when he founded the Howard Pyle School of Illustration in Wilmington, Delaware. These students became known as “The Brandywine School”, which included some of America’s greatest illustrators: Stanley Arthurs, Anna and Ethel Betts, Harvey Dunn, Anton Otto Fischer, Philip R. Goodwin, Elizabeth Shippen Green, W.H.D. Koerner, Violet Oakley, Frank Schoonover, Jessie Willcox Smith, Sarah Stilwell Weber and N.C. Wyeth. Artworks by each of these remarkable illustrators are included in this exhibition, giving viewers a chance to see how each artist interpreted the lessons of their shared teacher. Pyle’s innovative teaching methods encouraged his students to paint from experience, not merely from observation. W.H.D. Koerner, a loyal student of Pyle’s, remarked on Pyle’s dedication to his art: “Howard Pyle taught, fought, sang, struggled, and sobbed through his work.” This new principle, to “throw ourselves into the subject that we have chosen heart and soul,” as student Thornton Oakley described it, taught at the verge of the publishing boom of the 20th Century, laid the foundation for a Century of America’s iconic illustrators. His influences greatly contributed to illustrative painting and drawing becoming one of the truest forms of applied art. “Today everyone knows the name Norman Rockwell but few people know the name Howard Pyle, let alone his art or his impact on generations of artists and American illustration,” said Judy Goffman Cutler, Director of the American Illustrators Gallery. “This exhibition will give viewers a first-hand and close-up look at the marvelous original paintings that most people have only seen in reproduction form.”
PAST EXHIBITIONS
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The American Muse
April 2013 - April 2014
The American Muse explores the ways in which the greatest American illustrators portrayed their ideal women, and how these images both reflected and shaped the women of America throughout the early 20th Century.
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Women at Sport & Leisure
Sept 2011 - Nov 2011
An examination of how women’s leisure time was represented to the public as well as how women interacted with American sport.
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Happy Holidays America
Nov 2010 - Feb 2011
View how the greatest American illustrators captured the classic American holidays, solidifying the best-known and most beloved traditions in our popular culture.
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The Brandywine Illustrators
Nov 2009 - Mar 2010
Renowned as the “Father of American Illustration,” Howard Pyle and his students, known as the Brandywine Illustrators, created unforgettable images of early 20th century life.
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An American Spring
Mar 2008 - June 2008
As the seasons change across the country, An American Spring highlights moments Americans can relate to from their childhood and in their own homes.
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J. C. Leyendecker Exhibition
Jan 2007 - Mar 2008
One of the most prolific illustrators of his time, JC Leyendecker immensely influenced 20th century art and an entire generation of younger artists.
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Children And The Picture Book
May 2006 - Sept 2006
From fairy tales to adventures stories, this exhibition highlights the unforgettable images of children books throughout the 20th century.
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