Edward Penfield Portrait Prints
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.to
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Artist: Edward Penfield
Harper's July, The German Struggle for Liberty original art nouveau poster
By Edward Penfield
Located in Spokane, WA
Original Harper's July vintage poster; The German Struggle for Liberty. Original turn of the century lithograph by Edward Penfield. Size: 14 1/8" x 21 18"
Penfield created this poster to publicize Bigelow’s lengthy history of the Germanic people, serialized in the Monthly as “the first popular interpretation ever given to the rehabilitation of Germany through the uprising of the German people against the Napoleanic invasion.” July’s number began the series, which was published by Harper and Brothers as a two-volume set in 1896.
Harper's June 1895
HARPER’S The German Struggle for Liberty JULY
[Poster for Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Jul 1895]. German soldier at the guardhouse. Four-color lithograph: grey, blue, yellow, and red. New York: Harper & Brothers, published Jun 1895.
The magazine Harper's, issue of July, confronts the problems of The German Struggle for Liberty. Shown a German soldier in a helmet and armed with a rifle stands tall, and yet an uneasiness appears on his face. At a closer look, one will notice that not only does the soldier grasp his rifle in support, but in despair.
This Harper's July is an Original Vintage Poster; it is not a reproduction. This poster is conservation mounted, linen backed. An restored fold mark across the middle of the image keeps this image from being rated higher (for an original 1895 poster).
Category
1890s Art Nouveau Edward Penfield Portrait Prints
Materials
Lithograph
Tom Sawyer Detective by Mark Twain: 19th C. Framed Colored Poster
By Edward Penfield
Located in Alamo, CA
This lithographic colored advertising poster entitled "Tom Sawyer Detective, A New Story by Mark Twain" was created by Edward Penfield in 1897 for Harper & Brothers. The artist's signature appears in the plate in the lower left. The poster depicts a man in a long black bathing suit sitting with his knees up, aimlessly smoking a cigarette, but looking out of the corner of his eyes at a woman in a olive green dress and tan blouse and a black hat, who sits to his left with her head propped in her left hand and a bored or concerned look on her face. The look on the faces of the couple creates an air of mystery. The title of the book is printed in red in the upper left and the issue "Harper's August" in bold letters in the lower poster.
The poster promotes a new book by Mark Twain that was published initially in two issues of Harper's Monthly and also in book form by Harper & Brothers in 1896. It is a sequel to "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", published in 1876, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", published in 1884, and "Tom Sawyer Abroad", also published in 1894. The plot of the book involves Tom Sawyer attempting to solve a mysterious murder. The story is told using the first-person narrative voice of his friend Huck Finn...
Category
1890s Art Deco Edward Penfield Portrait Prints
Materials
Lithograph
The Martian original art nouveau 1897 lithograph
By Edward Penfield
Located in Spokane, WA
Original poster: The Martian. Vintage 1897 lithograph by Edward Penfield. Reference: Kiehl 205, DFP-I 412.
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Category
1890s Art Nouveau Edward Penfield Portrait Prints
Materials
Lithograph
$863 Sale Price
24% Off
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Edward Penfield portrait prints for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Edward Penfield portrait prints available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Edward Penfield in lithograph 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 portrait prints, so small editions measuring 13 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Jules Chéret, Alphonse Mucha, and René Gruau. Edward Penfield portrait prints prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $750 and tops out at $2,300, while the average work can sell for $863.