1000 Museums

Maxfield Parrish was an American illustrator and artist born in Pennsylvania. His first inspiration was his father, also a painter. Parrish was raised in a Quaker society, but he was encouraged to pursue art as a child.He was able to travel around Europe in search of inspiration and learning. Back in America, he studied at the Haverford School, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and later Drexel University. He started his career by selling art prints and illustrations to magazines, and continued to thrive in the commercial art industry. In the 1920s, he moved away from illustrating, focusing on painting on canvas. He is best known for his use of vibrant color and idealized neo-classical scenes. He painted for most of his life, until he was diagnosed with arthritis and died in 1966 at 95 years old. Parrish used a technique called glazing, which helped reinforce the saturated colors in his works, which set him apart from other artists. He often painted scenes with fantastical or mystical elements, making him popular for the masses.