Edward Penfield Art
American, 1866-1925
One of the best of our native talents, Penfield is well-known for the decade 1891-1901, during which he was the art director of Harper's. For five of the ten years he produced posters for each month's issue of the then-popular magazine. His drawings are deceptively simple, with flat color and clear lines, but they always manage to convey class and refinement. And there's quite often a gentle touch of humor or irony, refreshing and frivolous. Penfield's posters are models of effective composition and economy of expression (Jack Rennert, PAI-XXVII, 555)
When his tenure at Harper's came to an end, Penfield was free to travel, and his experiences are preserved in two books published by Scribner's, Holland Sketches (1907) and Spanish Sketches (1911), in which his graphic sense blossomed in a wealth of detail. The critic Royal Cortissoz commented: "When he made [these], he entered thoroughly into the spirit of his themes and did some of his best work... He was never the technical virtuoso alone. Humanity was always breaking into his world." - Frederic B. Taraba
"We are a bit tired of the very serious nowadays, and a little frivolity is refreshing, and yet frivolity to be successful must be most thoroughly studied." So wrote EDWARD PENFIELD near the outset of his highly influential career as an illustrator, art editor, and poster artist, a career guided by keen observation, a cosmopolitan sensibility, and simplicity that belied his meticulously crafted efforts.
In looking at the work of Penfield today, we find less of what strikes us as frivolous and more of a keen sense of design and composition. The Art Center Bulletin of April 1925 remembered his contribution to illustrative art this way: "To everything he produced Penfield brought his great gifts of design and draftsmanship, a wonderful sincerity that never faltered, and a beautiful humbleness of spirit." As early as 1894, just a year and a half after Penfield began a series of monthly images for Harper's , his work was heralded by Publisher's Weekly: "The advertising poster has within recent years actually soared into the regions of art." Penfield is also credited with bringing abstraction to commercial art through his boldly simplified shapes. This and other stylistic trademarks resulted from a distillation of a number of influences, including the compositional precepts and casual poses found in Japanese prints, the hand-craftsmanship of the Arts and Crafts movement, the impressionistic approach of Parisian poster-making, and British poise and directness.(Biography provided by The Vintage Poster)
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Artist: Edward Penfield
Dealer: Century Guild
Orient Cycles by Edward Penfield, Bicycle motorcycle lithograph, 1897
By Edward Penfield
Located in Chicago, IL
The Waltham Manufacturing Company was co-founded in 1893 in New York by Charles Metz and three business partners. The company's designer, Metz, called his cycles “Orient racing bicycles,” named after the Orient Fire Insurance...
Category
1890s Art Nouveau Edward Penfield Art
Materials
Lithograph
Harper's August, Tom Sawyer Detective by Mark Twain by Edward Penfield, 1897
By Edward Penfield
Located in Chicago, IL
Lithograph of Edward Penfield’s 1897 advertisement for Mark Twain's short story, Tom Sawyer Detective (1896).
While this poster was printed in multiple siz...
Category
1890s Art Nouveau Edward Penfield Art
Materials
Lithograph
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Edward Penfield art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Edward Penfield art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of orange and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Edward Penfield in lithograph, paint, paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 19th century and is mostly associated with the Art Deco style. Not every interior allows for large Edward Penfield art, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Eugene Grasset, Charles Herbert Woodbury, and Aleardo Terzi. Edward Penfield art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $330 and tops out at $59,000, while the average work can sell for $1,500.