Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The Chase of the Tide, 1901
When it comes to pictures, I am particularly fond of oblong compositions - especially oblong horizontal compositions. Is it from watching so many widescreen films? Is it something I’m genetically predisposed to, something I inherited from my father? It doesn’t matter. But here is an oblong Howard Pyle that has undeservedly slipped through the cracks - that is, unless you have the August 1901 issue of McClure’s Magazine handy. It’s an untitled illustration for “The Chase of the Tide” by Norman Duncan, and weighs in at a mere 5 x 1.7 inches. The printing isn’t great and the halftone (which shows the hand of an actual, human engraver, who has retouched the sky and bits of the boat) is murky, but the abstract wonderfulness of the picture shines through. As you see, words fail me.
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2 comments:
Very happy to find your blog. I have always greatly enjoyed the work of Pyle, and am glad to see someone still acknowledging him!I spent 10 yrs. living in Wilmington DE and there was a studio two blocks away that he once worked in! I found the building magical just for that fact!
http://evelynmccorristinpeters.blogspot.com/
You're so lucky to have been so close! For a few years he lived a few minutes' walk away at 1601 Broom Street - one of his residences that still stands.
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