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Inspiring Minds: Howard Pyle as Teacher

September 17, 2011 - November 17, 2011
Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935), Little Women, c. 1915, mixed media on illustration board, illustration for Louisa May Alcott, Little Women, Boston: Little, Brown & company, 1915, collection of the Brandywine River Museum.

Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935), Little Women, c. 1915, mixed media on illustration board, illustration for Louisa May Alcott, Little Women, Boston: Little, Brown & company, 1915, collection of the Brandywine River Museum of Art.

As a teacher of illustration from 1894 to 1905, Howard Pyle (1853-1911) inspired the careers of both young and seasoned illustrators. 

This exhibition examined Pyle’s teaching methods, which honed the skills of Jessie Willcox Smith, Thornton Oakley, Frank Schoonover, N.C. Wyeth and many others. It includeds examples of westudents’ class assignments as well as examples of their mature work. Period photographs that document activities of Pyle’s classes are also presented.