OVERVIEW
Renowned artist Maxfield Parrish is remembered today as one of the greatest American illustrators of the 20th century, and his oeuvre is as widespread and diverse as his audience. Parrish is a unique figure in American art, with a photorealist, classically inspired style that was both visionary and distinctive from the other great American illustrators of his era. This composition, entitled Autumn Woods, epitomizes the grandeur and luminosity of his landscapes.
Parrish's skill and vivid imagination are on full display in this oil on panel, which depicts a dense autumnal forest in a lush, saturated color palette. Masterfully rendered, the enchanting scene affirms his revolutionary understanding of color, luminosity and compositional design. While displaying the photographic illusionism so prevalent in the work of his fellow illustrators, Parrish's work also succeeds in maintaining an element of whimsy in his magical worlds.
Autumn Woods was composed during an important moment in Parrish's career. In the late 1920s, he decided to shift away from the commercial illustrations that had dominated his early career, focusing instead on landscape painting, the genre that truly captivated his heart and creative spirit. Working from an earlier print entitled Golden Hours made for the popular Mazda calendar of 1927, Parrish transformed the illustration into this exuberant landscape, ultimately renaming it Autumn Woods. He was so pleased with its outcome that the artist famously announced, "I'm done with girls on rocks! I've painted them for thirteen years and I could paint them and sell them for thirteen more... It's the unattainable that appeals. The next best thing to seeing the ocean or the hills or the woods is enjoying a painting of them." This bold move seamlessly transitioned his output from the realm of illustration to that of fine art.
A frequent illustrator for mass-market periodicals around the country, Parrish possessed a unique ability to appeal to the masses without compromising his creative ideals and artistic intuition. At the very height of his career in the
mid-1920s, when the present work was completed, it is estimated that Parrish's illustrations were displayed in one out of every four American homes.
Born in 1870, the son of Stephen Parrish would not begin his career as an illustrator until the age of 25, choosing instead to spend his early years studying art and architecture in Europe. Parrish's career was launched by a commission to illustrate L. Frank Baum's Mother Goose in Prose in 1897, after which he earned numerous commissions illustrating other texts as well as for popular magazines such as Harper's, Hearst's, Collier's and Life. The beautifully detailed, fantastical scenes he conceived truly made his works come alive, and his impact has endured for generations. ●
4 msrau.com
OVERVIEW
PROVENANCE
Windsor County Committee for British War Relief Rally, c. 1939-40, donated by the artist
Private Collection, acquired from above
Sale of the above, Sotheby's New York, May 19, 2004, Lot 175
Private Collection, Texas, acquired from above
M.S. Rau, New Orleans
Private Collection, Wyoming
5 msrau.com
AUCTION COMPARABLES
2 Maxfield Parrish
Title Hilltop
Description Visionary: The Paul G. Allen CollectionMAXFIELD PARRISH (1870-1966)HilltopDETA
Medium oil on panel Year of Work 1926
Misc. Signed
Sale of Christie's New York: Wednesday, November 9, 2022 [Lot 00047]
Visionary: The Paul G. Allen Collection Part I
Estimate 2,000,000 - 3,000,000 USD
Sold For 6,660,000 USD Premium
6 Maxfield Parrish
Title Land of Make-Believe
Description signed and dated 'Maxfield Parrish 1905' (lower right)oil on canvas40 ¼ x 32 ¼ in
Medium oil on canvas
of Work 1905
Misc. Signed
Sale of Christie's New York: Wednesday, November 19, 2014 [Lot 00072]
American Art
Estimate 3,000,000 - 5,000,000 USD
Sold For 3,525,000 USD Premium
7 Maxfield Parrish
Title The Glen
Description Maxfield Parrish1870 - 1966The Glensigned Maxfield Parrish © and dated 1936 (l
Medium oil on Masonite
Year of Work 1936
Misc. Signed
Sale of Sotheby's New York: Monday, November 22, 2021 [Lot 00018]
American Art
Estimate 1,500,000 - 2,000,000 USD
Sold For 3,287,000 USD Premium
6 msrau.com
Size Height
Width
in. / Height
cm.; Width
35.8 in.;
22.2
91
56.5 cm.
Size Height 40.2 in.; Width 32.3 in. / Height 102.2 cm.; Width
cm.
Year
82
Size Height 27.6 in.; Width 22.5 in. / Height 70.2 cm.; Width 57.2 cm.
10
AUCTION COMPARABLES
18
Maxfield Parrish
Title MILL POND
Description MAXFIELD PARRISH1870 - 1966MILL PONDsigned Maxfield Parrish and dated
Medium oil on Masonite Year of Work 1945
Misc. Signed, Inscribed
Sale of Sotheby's New York: Tuesday, November 19, 2019 [Lot 00006]
American Art
Estimate 600,000 - 800,000 USD
Sold For 2,420,000 USD Premium
Maxfield Parrish
Title Evening
Description Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)Eveningsigned and dated 'Maxfield Parrish '44' (lowe
Medium oil on panel
Misc. Signed, Inscribed
Sale of Christie's New York: Thursday, May 21, 2015 [Lot 00024]
American Art
Estimate 600,000 - 800,000 USD
Sold For 1,205,000 USD Premium
7 msrau.com
Size Height
Height
cm.;
23 in.; Width 18.5 in. /
58.4
Width 47 cm.
Height
in.; Width
in. / Height
cm.; Width
Size
22.9
18.5
58.1
47 cm.
MUSEUM COMPARABLES
Maxfield Parrish | Hilltop Farm, Winter
1949
Medium: Oil on Masonite
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Boston, MA, United States
8 msrau.com
Dimensions: 131/2 x 151/2 inches | 34.29 x 39.37 cm
MUSEUM COMPARABLES
Maxfield Parrish | Little Sugar River at Noon
1922-24
Medium: Oil on panel
Dimensions: 151/2 x 193/4 inches | 39.37 x 50.17 cm
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Richmond, VA, United States
9 msrau.com
Autumn Woods
