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Visions of Adventure: N. C. Wyeth and the Brandywine Artists
This collection contains examples of the work of Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, and four other exceptional painters from the Brandywine school of illustration, which opened in 1900. The 45-plus color illustrations, selected from magazines and books published throughout the 20th century, are accompanied by commentary discussing each work and illustrator. Five sections present chivalry, pirates, the American Indian, the frontier, and the art of illustration a personal journey. Edited by art collector Dell in association with Walt Reed, who has chronicled the history of American illustration in several books and articles. 9.25x12.25. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
- GenresArtNonfiction
130 pages, Hardcover
First published May 15, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 27, 2020
Walt Reed, one of the editors of this book, makes an ambitious claim:
Most of the pictures included in this book were painted to be reproduced, but they have never been printed so faithfully before. Some first appeared in small black-and-white images and have never before been seen in color reproduction. One of the purposes of this book is to present these pictures for the first time as they looked on the artists'easels when freshly painted.
But if some of the pictures were intended to be printed in black and white, surely some of the colors chosen by the artists might be different from those in other pictures that were designed to be reproduced as accurately as possible. Some of the characters painted with blue/gray skin, for example, may have been simply intended to look as if they were in shadows.
And since I have never seen any of the original paintings, I have no idea how accurate these claims are. Some of these pictures as shown here are very dark - not in mood, but in palette - and some of the same pictures appearing on the internet are much brighter. I can not tell which colors more closely reflect the artists' intentions. In my least-favorite picture in the book, Howard Pyle's "In Knighthood's Day" (p. 26), parts of the picture are so dark that I literally could not tell what is happening without the accompanying text.
"Brandywine" is a river in Pennsylvania near which Howard Pyle taught art students. This group is known primarily for their book illustrations, although one of the authors of this book, Elizabeth H. Hawkes, writes:
Though the Brandywine illustrators primarily produced work for publication, they also painted landscapes, still lifes, or figure paintings not intended for publication. As a teacher, Pyle believed his role was to produce "painters of pictures," not simply Illustrators of books.
The work of six artists appear in this book: Dean Cornwell, Harvey Dunn, Philip R. Goodwin, Howard Pyle, Frank E. Schoonover, and N. C. Wyeth. The pictures are divided into five categories - "Chivalry," "Pirates," "The American Indian," "The Frontier," and "The Art of Illustration - A Personal Journey." There are only thirty-four principal pictures shown; twenty-two of them are by N. C. Wyeth. Most of the pictures are printed on a full page, and four of them are on fold-out double pages.
I don't much like a few of the pictures, but others I think are quite good. I particularly like Treasure Island endpapers (p. 40),"Captain Smollett Defies the Mutineers" (p. 43), "Over the Barricades" (p. 44), "The Magic Pool" (p. 67-68), "Hungry but Stern on the Depot Platform" (p. 76), "The Ledge" (p. 84), "The Lost Vein" (p. 99), "Rip Van Winkle Awakes" (p. 103), and "The Scythers" (p. 107), all by N. C. Wyeth; "Dead Men Tell No Tales" (p. 53-54) by Howard Pyle; "A Northern Mist" (p 61) and "Approaching Camp" (p. 90) by Frank E. Schoonover, "Shooting Mountain Goats" (p. 95) by Philip R. Goodwin; and "The Firing Squad" (p. 79-80) by Harvey Dunn. "The Firing Squad" is my favorite picture in the book.
The text in the book includes helpful commentary on each picture, an "Introduction" by Elizabeth H. Hawkes, "The Coming of Age of Illustration in America" by Walt Reed, and "The Brandywine School," also by Walt Reed. There are also biographies of the six artists, all with photographs.
My only real problem with the book is how few pictures by these artists are shown. Thirty-four pictures is simply too small a sampling of their works. Dean Cornwell, for example, is represented by only one picture. Perhaps the real issue is that I like many of the pictures shown here so much that I simply want more.
Most of the pictures included in this book were painted to be reproduced, but they have never been printed so faithfully before. Some first appeared in small black-and-white images and have never before been seen in color reproduction. One of the purposes of this book is to present these pictures for the first time as they looked on the artists'easels when freshly painted.
But if some of the pictures were intended to be printed in black and white, surely some of the colors chosen by the artists might be different from those in other pictures that were designed to be reproduced as accurately as possible. Some of the characters painted with blue/gray skin, for example, may have been simply intended to look as if they were in shadows.
And since I have never seen any of the original paintings, I have no idea how accurate these claims are. Some of these pictures as shown here are very dark - not in mood, but in palette - and some of the same pictures appearing on the internet are much brighter. I can not tell which colors more closely reflect the artists' intentions. In my least-favorite picture in the book, Howard Pyle's "In Knighthood's Day" (p. 26), parts of the picture are so dark that I literally could not tell what is happening without the accompanying text.
"Brandywine" is a river in Pennsylvania near which Howard Pyle taught art students. This group is known primarily for their book illustrations, although one of the authors of this book, Elizabeth H. Hawkes, writes:
Though the Brandywine illustrators primarily produced work for publication, they also painted landscapes, still lifes, or figure paintings not intended for publication. As a teacher, Pyle believed his role was to produce "painters of pictures," not simply Illustrators of books.
The work of six artists appear in this book: Dean Cornwell, Harvey Dunn, Philip R. Goodwin, Howard Pyle, Frank E. Schoonover, and N. C. Wyeth. The pictures are divided into five categories - "Chivalry," "Pirates," "The American Indian," "The Frontier," and "The Art of Illustration - A Personal Journey." There are only thirty-four principal pictures shown; twenty-two of them are by N. C. Wyeth. Most of the pictures are printed on a full page, and four of them are on fold-out double pages.
I don't much like a few of the pictures, but others I think are quite good. I particularly like Treasure Island endpapers (p. 40),"Captain Smollett Defies the Mutineers" (p. 43), "Over the Barricades" (p. 44), "The Magic Pool" (p. 67-68), "Hungry but Stern on the Depot Platform" (p. 76), "The Ledge" (p. 84), "The Lost Vein" (p. 99), "Rip Van Winkle Awakes" (p. 103), and "The Scythers" (p. 107), all by N. C. Wyeth; "Dead Men Tell No Tales" (p. 53-54) by Howard Pyle; "A Northern Mist" (p 61) and "Approaching Camp" (p. 90) by Frank E. Schoonover, "Shooting Mountain Goats" (p. 95) by Philip R. Goodwin; and "The Firing Squad" (p. 79-80) by Harvey Dunn. "The Firing Squad" is my favorite picture in the book.
The text in the book includes helpful commentary on each picture, an "Introduction" by Elizabeth H. Hawkes, "The Coming of Age of Illustration in America" by Walt Reed, and "The Brandywine School," also by Walt Reed. There are also biographies of the six artists, all with photographs.
My only real problem with the book is how few pictures by these artists are shown. Thirty-four pictures is simply too small a sampling of their works. Dean Cornwell, for example, is represented by only one picture. Perhaps the real issue is that I like many of the pictures shown here so much that I simply want more.
July 29, 2021
Este libro es otra muestra de la gran cantidad y calidad de arte generado en Estados Unidos que aún está pendiente de llegar al pensamiento mainstream. Los maestros de la escuela del río Brandywine son la mezcla perfecta entre un buen impresionista y un buen dibujante. Son lo que los impresionistas quisieran haber sido y nunca pudieron.
August 2, 2025
A beautiful art book perfect for my home library.
April 1, 2010
This is a book that I got for both myself and my late wife. She was an artist and enjoyed various types of painting... I enjoy it mainly because there are not only paintings I enjoy, but there are paintings I remember from my childhood.
June 28, 2007
Art from some of my favorite classic illustrators. I pick up something new everytime i look through it.
June 26, 2008
The story behind the marvelous illustrations in Treasure Island and The Last of the Mohicans and more.
February 1, 2016
An awesome art book. Excellent selection of a modern master's work. Very recommended
February 2, 2017
Each painting has a nice little blurb about it, and the paintings in the book cover a wide array of subjects.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews