Original Framed1896 Edward Penfield “Harpers: May” Lithograph

Description

Title:
Harper's: May
Artist:
Edward Penfield (American, Brooklyn, New York 1866–1925 Beacon, New York)
Publisher:
Harper and Brothers, Publishers
Date:
1896
Medium:
Lithograph
Dimensions:
Sheet: 17 3/4 × 11 7/8 in. (45.1 × 30.2 cm)
Dimensions with the frame: 19” W x 24” T
Classifications:
Prints, Posters
1896 Edward Penfield “Harpers: May” Lithograph
Stamped in lower right corner
In excellent condition, frame does have some wear
Regarded as one of the most influential poster artists in America, Edward Penfield joined the publishing house Harper and Brothers at the age of twenty-five as a staff artist and editor. Shortly after his promotion to artistic director, Penfield created his first lithograph for Harper’s Magazine in 1893. Following its runaway success, he made posters advertising each successive issue of the magazine for over seven years. Magazine readers and poster collectors celebrated his designs for their boldness, abstraction, and occasional comic touch. Penfield also created advertisements and cover designs for books published by Harper and Brothers.
"Les Maitres de l'Affiche" ("Masters of the Poster") was a lithographed series of 256 plates that reproduced the best American and European posters of the time. Under the artistic direction of Jules Cheret (1836-1932), the prints were published as a monthly subscription. In addition to the four prints disseminated every month, there were 16 bonus plates each originally designed by noted artists including Cheret.
As the most acclaimed artist working for Harper’s, Penfield was free to experiment with avant-garde styles. Less concerned with the dramatic curving lines of Art Nouveau than his contemporaries, Penfield synthesized a number of stylistic sources in his work, including Japanese ukiyo-e prints and posters made by contemporary French and British artists. Penfield’s work for Harper’s displays a late nineteenth-century American type—the wealthy and well-appointed middle-class individual enjoying leisure time. Penfield himself was part of this newly emerging middle class.