Half-tone printing and presses solved the technical problems, but there was still the issue of price. And that was to be solved by the introduction of illustrated advertisements. Early advertisements were not illustrated because printing images was too expensive. Then came the automobile. Cars were the first products to justify the price of an illustrated advertisement, because they produced more much more profit than less expensive items. Fairly rapidly, however, as printing images became less expensive and competition increased, advertisers began to purchase illustrated ads for less costly items. An elegant dandy wearing an "Arrow" collar, was much more eye-catching than two lines of print describing the same thing. As advertising grew, magazine costs decreased to $.15 and $.10 a copy because publishers no longer had to rely solely on subscription income. Lower prices meant periodicals and books were available to an even wider (poorer) audience, and the purchaser was rarely the only one who read an issue. In 1879, to encourage literacy, the federal government had started to subsidize the cost of mailing magazines; the creation of the rural free delivery (RFD) system in 1902 meant that even more rural readers could receive these new magazines – and order anything from a house to a Japanese fan from the Sears catalog.

Demand for illustration boomed as the demand for magazines and books grew. Action stories about the American West, about adventure and romance, distant lands and distant times, became increasingly popular. In response, a new approach to illustration developed based on the philosophy of Howard Pyle. Generally regarded as "The Father of American Illustration" for his dual roles of painter and teacher, Pyle saw illustration as integrated into a narrative – not just "information" about the story. Born in 1853, Pyle had grown up drawing pictures of Revolutionary War actions that had taken place near the family home in Wilmington, Delaware. As a result, his illustrations were vibrant and alive where traditionally, illustration had been rather static and flat. Howard Pyle’s painting, and later, teaching philosophy focused on two key elements. First, the illustration must center on the dramatic moment to get the reader to ask, "What happened next?" and to encourage him or her to keep reading. Second, the illustration must be accurate, whether historical or contemporary. For example, in Pyle’s Dead Men Tell No Tales, the costumes, weapons and the ship are all based on reading and research.

And Pyle certainly catches the dramatic moment. The accompanying caption reads in part:

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.  [5]

Unlike most illustrators, Pyle was also an accomplished author. He wrote and illustrated a celebrated series of children’s books based on the legends of King Arthur. He was also a charismatic individual and as a teacher directly and indirectly influenced several generations of illustrators. By the mid-1890s, Pyle was lecturing and critiquing aspiring art students in New York and Philadelphia. "Live in your picture," he would tell them. "Feel the wind and rain on your skin when you paint it." Another student recalled his admonition to "Paint your picture by means of the light. Lights define texture and color – shadows define form……. Art is not a transcript of nature nor a copy. Art is the expression of those beauties and emotions that stir the human soul".

From 1894 until 1900, Pyle taught a very popular illustration class at Drexel University in Philadelphia. He began to realize, however, that only a few of his students were really gifted artists. In 1898, he had begun a summer school for his most talented students at Chadds Ford, on the Brandywine River, ten miles from Wilmington. In 1900, Pyle resigned from Drexel to teach these select students in his own school for the next four years. After 1903, the school became more informal, a place where Pyle and his students would come to sketch through the years. Pyle and his students (and their students) were to become known as the "Brandywine School", sought for their ability to create dramatic illustrations of faraway places and times.

Pyle’s students interpreted his philosophy in different ways. A few, such as Stanley Arthurs, painted in a very similar style. It is interesting to compare Arthurs’ Death of Mordred with Pyle’s The Poet and the King. By contrast, N.C. Wyeth (Cats. 46-49), perhaps Pyle’s most famous student, became known through his magnificent illustrations for some of the classic children’s books including The Scottish Chiefs. Wyeth (the father of Andrew and grandfather of Jamie) was one of those who clearly developed his own distinctive style, with brilliant use of color and light. Maxfield Parrish was another student of Pyle’s, albeit very briefly. Parrish was tremendously gifted and largely self-taught and after only one class, Pyle let him go, telling him there was nothing he could teach him. Parrish was to make a name in advertising for the Mazda light company, among others, and as a creator of beautiful posters and murals.

Several female artists, among them Jessie Wilcox Smith and Catherine Wiley also studied with Pyle and achieved considerable success. Smith was to become known for her soft, idyllic illustrations for many popular childrens books, including Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses. Home life for her readers might not be idyllic, but it could be a happy (if distant) fantasy. She also became well known through her many magazine illustrations for McClure’s, and for over 200 cover illustrations for Good Housekeeping. Catherine Wiley, whose work is featured in a satellite exhibition, studied with Pyle before developing her own more impressionistic technique.

Pyle encouraged each student to become proficient in his or her area. He inspired Henry Soulen to research the brilliantly colored and exotic subjects and locales that interested him – among them the Middle East. His portrayals of Chinatowns in the United States – although they may reflect certain prejudices of the time – nonetheless ring true because he visited a great many of them as part of his research. Frank Schoonover became tremendously popular for his illustrations of the Indians and the stark and difficult country of America’s frontier country. The popularity of stories of adventure, danger, heroes and heroines in the American West – a territory very distant from the industrial city – created great demand for his works. On Pyle’s recommendation, Schoonover made several trips to the northern Hudson Bay area where he traveled by canoe, snowshoe and dog sled to gain personal experience for the stories he chose to illustrate.