Howard Pyle (1853-1911) |
Howard Pyle has been called the "Father of Modern Illustration" not
only for the thousands of illustrations he did during his career
(many for books that he had written), but also for the work he did
as a teacher at his school in Wilmington. It was Pyle who taught
many of the most important illustrators ever to work in this
country, including
N. C. Wyeth,
Frank Schoonover,
Harvey Dunn,
and Jessie Willcox
Smith. Working in either pen-and-ink or oil on canvas,
Pyle composed his scenes in such a way as to maximize their
emotional impact. He specialized in historical subject matter, but
was equally at home illustrating pirates, revolutionary soldiers, or
Arthurian knights. His theories of composition and color, and
methods of bringing his readers into the action, remain as viable
today as they were one hundred years ago. |
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Dead Men Tell No Tales |
1899 |
Oil on canvas,
22 inches x 33 inches |
"Dead Men Tell
no Tales," Morgan Robertson, Collier's, December 17,
1899. |
Caption:
WO to Toil in the sandy Soil.
Why so many to share the spoil?
Two men less in the foc'sle mess.
Dead men tell no tales.
Earrings take for the future's sake.
Anchors break for a future stake.
Two men left with the grisly guess,
Dead men tell no tales. |
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