Frontispiece - An Attack on a Galleon (tone)

The Brandywine School was a style of

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, video ...

—as well as an artists colony in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Unami language, Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North ...

and in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, near the Brandywine River—both founded by artist

Howard Pyle Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. In 1894, he began ...

(1853–1911) at the end of the 19th century. The works produced there were widely published in adventure novels, magazines, and romances in the early 20th century. Pyle’s teachings would influence such notable illustrators as N.C. Wyeth,

Maxfield Parrish Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. His career spann ...

, and

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of the country's culture. Rockwell is most famous for the ...

. Pyle himself would come to be known as the "Father of American Illustration." Many works related to the Brandywine School may be seen at the Brandywine River Museum of Art, in Chadds Ford.

History

Pyle, one of the foremost illustrators in the United States at the time, began teaching art classes at

Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, ...

in 1895. However, he was dissatisfied with the confines of formal art education, and beginning in 1898, he began teaching students during the summers at the Turner Mill in Chadds Ford. The mill, alongside the Brandywine, provided views of a scenic landscape to inspire the artists. In 1900, Pyle left Drexel and opened his own

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes co ...

attached to his personal art studio. Pyle created this school so that he might train a generation of illustrators who were artistically and financially successful. He hoped that through this, he would foster an American style of painting, something he felt the country lacked. In order to develop that intrinsically American style, Pyle believed that his students must spend time outdoors, taking in the scenery and the history of their country. To help facilitate this, Pyle frequently brought his students to Chadds Ford, where he would tell his students stories about the area’s revolutionary history while they painted landscapes. Pyle advocated against studying in Europe, hoping that his students would find fame and success through an American education. The school and studio, which are still standing, are located a short walk from the

Brandywine Park Brandywine Park was the first city park established by the city of Wilmington, Delaware. It is located on the banks of Brandywine Creek (Christina River), Brandywine Creek, between Augustine Road and North Market Street. The park was established ...

, a stretch of riverside park designed by

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...

. Of the 500 students who applied to attend Pyle's school in its first year, only twelve were accepted. It was through the absorption of Pyle's particular style and teaching that the tradition known as the "Brandywine School" emerged. Pyle continued to operate the school until 1910, during which time he was mentor to such successful artists as

N. C. Wyeth Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and illustrator. He was the pupil of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 ...

, Frank E. Schoonover, Stanley M. Arthurs, William James Aylward,

Thornton Oakley Thornton Oakley (March 27, 1881 – April 4, 1953) was an American artist and illustrator. Biography Thornton Oakley was born on Sunday, March 27, 1881, in Pittsburgh. He was the son of John Milton Oakley and Imogen Brashear Oakley. He gradua ...

Violet Oakley Violet Oakley (June 10, 1874 – February 25, 1961) was an American artist. She was the first American woman to receive a public mural commission. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, she was renowned as a pathbreaker in mural dec ...

Clifford Ashley Clifford Warren Ashley (December 18, 1881 – September 18, 1947) was an American artist, author, sailor, and knot expert. Life Ashley was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, son of Abiel Davis Ashley and Caroline Morse. He married Sarah Scudder ...

Anna Whelan Betts Anna Whelan Betts (May 15, 1873 – February 6, 1959) was an American illustrator and art teacher who was noted for her paintings of Victorian women in romantic settings. Betts is considered one of the primary artists of the golden age of Am ...

Ethel Franklin Betts Ethel Franklin Betts Bains (September 6, 1877 – October 9, 1959) was an American illustrator primarily of children's books during the golden age of American illustration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Early life and education Betts ...

Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle (November 11, 1876 – August 1, 1936) was an American illustrator best known for the 40 covers she created for ''The Saturday Evening Post'' in the 1920s and 1930s under the guidance of ''Post'' editor-in-chief, Georg ...

Jessie Willcox Smith Jessie Willcox Smith (September 6, 1863 – May 3, 1935) was an American illustrator during the Golden Age of American illustration. She was considered "one of the greatest pure illustrators". A contributor to books and magazines during the lat ...

, Olive Rush,

Blanche Grant Blanche Chloe Grant (1874–1948) was an American artist, magazine illustrator and author. She is remembered as a muralist as well as a painter of American Indians. Born in Leavenworth, Kansas, she studied at Vassar College, at the School of the ...

, Philip R. Goodwin, Allen Tupper True, and Harvey Dunn. In all, 75 artists were trained by Pyle during the ten years he ran his school in Wilmington. The Brandywine School continued on in Pyle's students even after his death in 1911. Several of his students, inspired by Pyle's example, taught the next generation of the school's students. In 1905, Wilmington philanthropist

Samuel Bancroft Samuel Bancroft (January 21, 1840 – April 22, 1915) was an American industrialist as well as a major collector of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood artwork. His appreciation for art and his desire to give back to the community led to his becoming a pr ...

constructed a set of

buildings A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and func ...

to house and provide studios for four of Pyle's most successful students: Wyeth, Schoonover, Dunn, and Ashley. Schoonover remained in his studio for the next 63 years, and in 1942 he used it to open his own school, where he taught artists such as Ellen du Pont Wheelwright. After Pyle's death, Arthurs purchased the Pyle studio and continued the school from 1912 to 1950. Wyeth stayed in his Wilmington studio for a time before moving to Chadds Ford, where he taught his own children, including artist

Andrew Wyeth Andrew Newell Wyeth ( ; July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009) was an American visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century. In his ...

. In his study ''The Brandywine Tradition'' (1968), author and illustrator

Henry Clarence Pitz Henry Clarence Pitz (June 16, 1895 – November 26, 1976) was an American artist, illustrator, editor, author, and teacher who wrote and/or illustrated over 160 books, and dozens of magazine covers and articles. His most well-known book is '' ...

wrote of the movement's "concern for human values, . . . delight in the exercise of the pictorial imagination, the feeling that design should follow the behest of content and the conviction that the illustrator has a power over and a responsibility to his audience." The style was a source of inspiration for, and used extensively by

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

previsualization artists for the animated film, ''

Treasure Planet ''Treasure Planet'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The 43rd Disney animated feature film, it is a science fiction adaptat ...

''.

Gallery

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List of artists associated with the Brandywine School

* Stanley M. Arthurs *

* William James Aylward *

* Harvey Dunn * Philip R. Goodwin *

* * Barclay Rubincam * Olive Rush * Frank E. Schoonover *

* Allen Tupper True * Charles M. West Jr. * Anne Warner West *

References

{{reflist American artist groups and collectives American art movements

History

Gallery

List of artists associated with the Brandywine School

See also

References