Stephen Parrish (1846 – 1938) was an American

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

who became one of the 19th century's most celebrated printmakers during the "American Etching Revival." Privately trained by painter and animal etcher Peter Moran, Parrish was best known for his landscape etching of "Eastern North America, particularly the harbors and villages of New England and Canada," and as the father of painter and illustrator

Maxfield Parrish Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustration, illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. His works featured distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. The ...

Career

Parrish was engaged in mercantile pursuits until he was 30, when he applied himself to art, studying for a year with a local teacher. In 1878, he attended the Pennsylvania Academy in Philadelphia, and in 1879 at the National Academy in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He soon turned his attention also to etching, and in December 1879, produced his first plate. After that he applied himself to both branches of art, exhibiting in New York City,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Philadelphia,

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Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Memberships

* New York Etching Club * Society of Painter-Etchers of London

Personal life

Born to a Philadelphia Quaker family, Parrish married in 1869, and his only child, artist Frederick

was born in 1870.

Etchings

Parrish's etchings include: ''Northern Moorland'' and ''Low Tide — Bay of Fundy'' (1882); ''Coast of New Brunswick'', ''Winter Evening — Windsor, Nova Scotia'', and ''Bethlehem'' (1884); ''London Bridge'' and ''On the Thames'' (1886); and ''A Gloucestar Wharf'' (1887). Among his paintings are ''November'' (1880); ''In Winter Quarters'' (1884); ''Low Tide — Evening'' (1885); ''On the Rance, Brittany'' (1886); and ''The Road to Perry's Peak''. He also frequently made etchings out of earlier sketches and drawings. File:Stephen Parrish, In Port, etching 1882.jpeg, In Port, 1882 File:Stephen Parrish, Marblehead, 1881, NGA 145560.jpg,

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsu ...

, 1881 File:Stephen Parrish - Mills at Mispek, N.B. - 1919.986 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, Mills at Mispek, N.B., 1884 File:Stephen Parrish - A Gale at Fécamp (Normandie) - 2006.268 - Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg, ''A Gale at Fécamp'',

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, 1886 File:Stephen Parrish, Quebec, 1887, NGA 148306.jpg, Quebec, 1887

References

*
Stephen Parrish: Rediscovered American Etcher
at Woodmere Art Museum (visited 7 June 2010) *

External links

''Catalogue of pictures''
a digitized exhibition catalog containing a list of works by the artist. 1846 births 1938 deaths 18th-century American painters 18th-century American male artists American male painters 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists 19th-century American etchers 20th-century American painters 20th-century American printmakers 20th-century American male artists {{US-painter-1840s-stub