the working process
Maxfield Parrish's paintings hide their craft -- you almost never see a brush stroke -- so it's difficult to imagine how he made them. But it might be no surprise to hear that he worked meticulously and deliberately. He was an accomplished photographer and would take many glass negatives of his models -- he preferred androgynous girls, nude or in Grecian garb -- and trace the images in pencil from a projector onto thick paper and cut the figures out precisely so he could arrange them in the perfect pose against the landscape, usually according to the proportion of the Golden Ratio. He must have spent hundreds of hours on a painting before even setting brush to canvas. Toward the end of Parrish's career, he was approached by a maverick curator, Earl Rowland of the Pioneer and Haggin Museum of Stockton, California and asked to donate some works which he did, in 1958. Along with finished paintings Parrish provided a portfolio of preparatory works -- cutouts and tracings -- several of which the museum de-accessioned (through Bonham's auction house) in 2006. The drawings offered here are all from this collection. Even though, as working drawings, they are not signed, one need not worry about authenticity. While most are quite recognizeable from his famous paintings, some are variations from the final poses, showing the evolution of Parrish's careful editing and design. As the cut-outs were originally mounted non-archivally (well, it was the 1950s after all), most of these have been dismounted and treated by a paper conservator, and most are now cleaned and flattened, with glue removed, and presented in archival mats. Now that Parrish's paintings have become so pricey -- "Daybreak" sold in 2006 for 7.6 million dollars -- these are a welcome, affordable opportunity to own a real Parrish. Illustration House offered one of these in our December 2008 auction, where it sold for $10,350 -- these are all priced for less than that. Roger T. Reed |
