Maxfield Parrish

The Painter Who Made America’s Most Reproduced Print

Maxfield Parrish painted dreamlike figures and glowing skies by stacking thin oil glazes over white grounds, a slow method that gave his blues their famous depth.

Who was Maxfield Parrish?

An American painter and illustrator, born in Philadelphia in 1870. He worked for magazines, books, and advertisers, and later sold paintings as art prints.

What is Parrish blue?

It is the name people gave to the deep, luminous cobalt skies in his paintings. The effect came from layered glazes, not from one special pigment.

What is his most famous painting?

Daybreak (1922). Prints of it sold in huge numbers through the 1920s, and it is often called one of the most reproduced images of that century.

Where did he live and work?

From the late 1890s he lived at The Oaks, his home and studio in Plainfield, New Hampshire, near the Cornish Art Colony. He died there in 1966.

Where can I see his work in public?

His Old King Cole mural hangs in the St. Regis Hotel bar in New York. The Dream Garden glass mosaic, made with Tiffany Studios, is in Philadelphia.

Early Life and Training

Parrish was the only child of Stephen Parrish, a Philadelphia painter and etcher who encouraged his drawing early. Family trips to Europe let the boy study old masters and architecture first hand.

He studied architecture at Haverford College, then enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1891 to 1893. He also sat in on Howard Pyle’s illustration classes at Drexel Institute, though Pyle reportedly felt he had little left to teach him.

Technique, Light and Color

His architectural training shows in his compositions: columns, urns and balustrades frame figures with near geometric care. He often built scenes from photographs of models and cardboard props he made himself.

The glow comes from method. Parrish brushed thin layers of transparent color over a white ground, sealing each one with varnish. Light passes through the glazes and bounces back, wich makes skies seem lit from inside.

Key Works and Legacy

Book work includes Eugene Field’s Poems of Childhood (1904) and The Arabian Nights (1909). He painted covers for Collier’s and Life, plus Edison Mazda calendars for General Electric.

After about 1931 he turned mostly to landscapes, many printed by Brown and Bigelow. His mix of fine art and mass printing still shapes how historians judge the line between illustration and painting

I’m done with girls on rocks.

Maxfield Parrish, Associated Press interview, 1931

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  Winding the Skein is by Frederic Leighton, not Maxfield Parrish. Two girls in Greek style dress wind wool between them on a rooftop terrace, with a calm bay and pale mountains behind. Leighton turned a plain household task into a balanced classical frieze of warm light and soft fabric. The painting belongs to the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney.

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  This wider reproduction of Frederic Leighton's Flaming June shows more of the setting: a marble bench, dark draped cloth, and a branch of oleander at the upper right. Leighton, a leading figure of the Royal Academy, built the pose on carefully studied curves. The painting is often confused with Maxfield Parrish because both artists favored glowing warm light, but it is Leighton's work.

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  Maxfield Parrish retells the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale as a hushed palace scene. The princess lies across a draped couch while two attendants slump asleep on the steps, framed by tall columns, bowls of flowers and dark forest trees. Warm amber light and careful architectural framing show the style Parrish used in his magazine and print work of the 1910s.

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  Amarilla is a portrait study by Frederic Leighton, not Maxfield Parrish. A young woman in regional dress, with a lace collar, velvet jacket and red skirt, rests one hand on a low wall. Autumn foliage and a sail on the sea fill the background. Leighton painted several such single figure studies that mix portraiture with an idealized Mediterranean setting.

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  Idyll is by Frederic Leighton, not Maxfield Parrish. A young shepherd seen from behind plays a pipe to two women resting beneath a tree, while a wide river plain glows in sunset light. The pastoral subject looks back to classical poetry. Leighton balances the bare figure at left against the pale drapery of the listeners at right.

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  A centaur draws a bow beneath a long sweep of red drapery, while two young men stand on rough rocks below him. Gold leaves flicker against a violet evening sky. The subject recalls the Greek myths Parrish illustrated for Nathaniel Hawthorne's A Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales (1910), though the exact plate and title still need confirmation.

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  Captive Andromache is by Frederic Leighton, not Maxfield Parrish. Hector's widow, now a slave after the fall of Troy, waits in black at the well, isolated from the crowd of women in orange, green and red robes. The subject comes from Homer's Iliad. The large frieze-like canvas is held by Manchester Art Gallery.

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  In Reveries, a young woman in a pale flowing gown rests on a rope swing, eyes half closed, framed by gold and green chestnut leaves. Below her a sheet of intense blue water stretches toward a misty shore. The cool blue against warm foliage shows the layered glazing that gave Parrish's colors their luminous depth.

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  This scene illustrates a tale from The Arabian Nights. The young king, half turned to stone by enchantment, sits slumped on a block throne in dark blue robes, a great gold disc behind him. The bare geometric staging and mottled surfaces are typical of Parrish's plates for the 1909 edition of The Arabian Nights, edited by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith.

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  A young woman in a long cream gown stands on a garden path, a second figure close behind her, framed by pink roses, large urns and stone columns. Beyond a dark oak, sunlit cliffs glow gold. The framing and warm glazed light are typical of Parrish's illustration work. The exact title and date of this image still need confirmation.

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  Three young women in loose white tunics lounge on a stone terrace with two ornate lutes. Behind them, autumn trees glow gold against blue rocks and a cobalt sky, the color known as Parrish blue. The Lute Players was one of the decorative paintings Parrish made in the 1920s for sale as large art prints.

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  This Easter cover, printed with a P. F. Collier and Son copyright line, shows a kneeling boy reaching toward a stem of white lilies. A pale violet moon and a gold flecked tree trunk frame him, with EASTER spelled out in wide capitals below. Parrish produced many covers for Collier's in the early 1900s, and this one shows his flat, poster like design for magazines.

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  A figure in wind tossed crimson robes and a gold turban climbs a sunlit crag, holding a green branch as dark clouds roll past. The scene illustrates the tale of the singing tree from The Arabian Nights. Parrish's plates for the 1909 Scribner edition use strong reds, golds and blues in carefully built layers of glaze.

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  A young man in a dark cloak stands on a boulder at the edge of a grove, beneath enormous trunks lit rose and violet by low sun. The trees form a natural arch that opens onto pale sky. Parrish often used trees and rocks as architecture. The book or story this illustration belongs to, and its date, still need confirmation.

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  Six figures in loose patterned pierrot suits and pointed caps hold round yellow lanterns on a flight of steps and among tree branches. The bright globes glow against a clear cobalt sky. Parrish painted The Lantern Bearers for Collier's magazine, and it shows his skill with flat pattern, costume and saturated light.

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  A bearded dwarf in a broad hat leans on his staff above Snow White, who lies in a glass coffin on a rocky ledge draped with red cloth. Gold lit cliffs rise behind and dark pines frame the scene. Parrish painted a set of fairy tale subjects in the early 1910s, and this one shows his theatrical staging and rich warm palette.

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  A young farmhand rests his scythe and looks across a field from a grassy rise, set against a smooth orange and gold sky. HARVEST runs in wide capitals along the bottom with Parrish's M.P. monogram. The design belongs to a group of seasonal covers Parrish created for Collier's, where simple silhouettes carry the mood of the season.

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  A gentle old gardener in spectacles grins down at a tiny seedling in a clay pot, trowel in hand, a green watering can at his feet. Puffy white clouds fill a bright blue sky, and SPRING is lettered along the base. The humor and clean layout reflect the seasonal covers Parrish designed for Collier's magazine.

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  Three young men in simple wraps walk along a flat sandy shore, while a bent old man with a staff moves toward them. Blue pools of water and a band of bright horizon sit beneath heavy storm clouds. The calm, frieze like arrangement suggests a book illustration; its title, source text and date still need confirmation.

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  A boy flies high on a swing, head thrown back, in front of a dreamlike castle of towers and cypresses floating on clouds. Red gold leaves hang above. The Dinkey-Bird illustrates a poem in Eugene Field's Poems of Childhood (1904), one of Parrish's best known book commissions and a source of many popular prints.

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  A bearded man in a cap and heavy coat leans into his stride through deep snow, a full sack slung over his shoulder. Tall gray trunks cast long shadows across the pale yellow ground. The restrained palette suggests a seasonal or magazine design, but the title and date of this work have not been confirmed.

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  A tall, mild faced dragon sits on a hillside and gazes down at a boy perched on the rocks beside him. A walled town crowns the hill beyond under pink clouds. The scene illustrates Kenneth Grahame's story The Reluctant Dragon in Dream Days (1902), where the dragon prefers poetry to fighting. Parrish gave the creature a calm, almost courteous expression.

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  A young figure in a green drape sits on a dark branch, holding a pipe as large translucent bubbles float toward a castle half hidden in clouds. The deep blue sky and pale bubbles create a soft, dreamlike contrast. Air Castles appeared as a magazine cover for the Ladies' Home Journal and became one of Parrish's popular early images.

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  Daybreak is Maxfield Parrish's most famous painting. A young girl bends over a reclining woman on a portico framed by columns and flowering trees, with blue mountains and still water behind. Published as a print by the House of Art in 1923, it sold in very large numbers and is often called one of the most reproduced art prints of the twentieth century.

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  Under an arched top, a nude youth sits on a large boulder holding a page, looking across a lake toward a castle on a sunlit crag. Tall dark trees and climbing vines frame the view in amber and green. The lunette shape suggests a mural or decorative panel; its title and date still need confirmation.

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  A young woman sits on a dark rock at the edge of a cliff, knees drawn up, looking up into a sky that shifts from green at the horizon to deep starry blue. The warm lit figure stands out against the cool night. Stars was issued as a popular art print by the House of Art in the late 1920s.

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  A young woman with loose golden hair sits on a rock, arms around her knees, face lifted toward the sun. Sunlit peaks and a reflecting lake lie below a sky of towering white and blue clouds. The quiet single figure set in a wide landscape is a format Parrish used often in his calendar and print images of the 1920s.

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  A hooded magician raises his hand through rising smoke as young Aladdin flinches among fire lit boulders. In the foreground a stone slab with a ring marks the entrance to the treasure cave. The plate comes from Parrish's illustrations for The Arabian Nights, published by Scribner in 1909, and uses rich gold and smoky violet tones.

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  Golden Hours is by Frederic Leighton, not Maxfield Parrish. A young man in a dark velvet coat plays a keyboard instrument with eyes lowered, while a woman in a cream silk dress leans on the case, her back to the viewer. The mood of music and quiet listening links the painting to the Aesthetic Movement of the 1860s.

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  This painting is by Frederic Leighton, not Maxfield Parrish. Two young women toss a ball across a sunlit terrace, their robes whipped by wind into long swirling folds. A blue bay, white buildings and bare mountains open behind them. Leighton used the game as a pretext to study figures in motion and drapery in the classical revival manner of late Victorian painting.

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  Two riders in wide brimmed hats move across a boulder strewn slope, dust rising around their horses. A peak glows rose and orange beneath a deep blue sky. Parrish traveled to Arizona in the early 1900s and painted Western subjects for magazines; the specific title and publication of this image still need confirmation.

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  A bare figure strides across dark rocks, wrapped in a long, twisting golden fleece that whips through the air. Storm clouds part over a bright yellow horizon. The subject appears to relate to the Jason legend Parrish illustrated for Hawthorne's Tanglewood Tales; the exact plate title and date still need confirmation.

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  A young woman in a red cap reaches up to light a lantern on a tall post beside a Venetian canal. A gondolier and a seated boy pause beside her, with orange sails and church domes against a deep blue dusk. Parrish painted this theme of light for General Electric's Edison Mazda lamp calendars of the 1920s.

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  A young girl in a simple pale dress leans against a huge gnarled trunk, gazing at a large frog perched on a rock nearby. Massive trees and misty blue cliffs rise behind them. The scene nods to the frog prince fairy tale, and the twisting trunks show Parrish's fondness for trees drawn like architecture.

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  This circular painting is by Frederic Leighton, not Maxfield Parrish. Perseus rides the winged horse Pegasus across a wide sky, Medusa's severed head hanging at his side and an orange cloak streaming behind. Leighton painted it in the mid 1890s as a companion to his Perseus and Andromeda. It is held at Leighton House in London.

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  Two young women sit together on a sunlit rock, one gazing down, the other looking up at her, set against a huge rose violet mountainside with pale blue peaks above. Parrish painted Contentment for the Edison Mazda calendar series for General Electric, where warm figures and glowing light advertised the electric lamp.

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  A sculptor in an Egyptian headcloth and loincloth holds a chisel and mallet, while a seated youth rests beside a green clay jar on a polished ledge. A carved relief and a desert horizon with palms complete the scene. The clean geometry and reflection show Parrish's interest in classical and ancient settings early in his career.

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  This brighter reproduction of Reveries brings out the contrast between the orange and gold chestnut leaves and the electric blue of the water below. The young woman leans her head on her arm as she sits on the swing, lost in thought. The intensity of blue in prints like this helped make the term Parrish blue widely known.

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  A cheerful painter with a mop of black hair, small spectacles and a loose ochre smock stands at a tall easel, palette and brushes in hand. The pale empty background focuses attention on the character. Parrish often drew affectionate, slightly comic figures for magazine covers; the title and publication of this image still need confirmation.

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  A white farmhouse and barn sit on a snowy rise, a tall leafless tree and a dark pine standing beside them. Pink sunlight touches the hills while the sky fades to green. After about 1931 Parrish painted many such New Hampshire winter scenes, often reproduced on Brown and Bigelow calendars. Title and date are not yet confirmed.

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  A small cabin with a glowing window nestles among rocks beside a deep violet lake, overshadowed by mountains lit gold and lemon yellow. The signature at lower left appears to read Maxfield Parrish 61, placing it near the end of his career. The exact title has not been confirmed.

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  Two robed figures stand at the edges of a portico, framed by tall dark columns, looking over a deep valley. Castles crown rocky spurs while snow peaks glow gold and blue in late light. The framed vista is typical of Parrish's romantic compositions of the 1920s. Title and date still need confirmation.

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  A huge twisted trunk anchors the scene, its roots spreading over rocks, while crimson flowering shrubs glow at left. A second tree fades into luminous yellow haze at right. The heavy textured bark and intense color are close to Parrish's decorative landscapes; this may be a detail of a larger work, and its title still needs confirmation.

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  Billowing white clouds rise above clumps of dark trees and sunlit ochre hills. In front, a golden sandbank bends around a calm stretch of water that mirrors the sky. Landscapes like this became Parrish's main subject from the 1930s onward. Title, date and medium have not yet been confirmed.

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  An elderly couple walks arm in arm across broad golden sand flats, while other small figures head toward a massive dark rock rising from the sea. Gray pools reflect a cloudy sky. The flat, simplified planes suggest an early illustration. The title, source and date of this image still need confirmation.

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  A smiling youth with red gold curls and a feathered cap crouches on a rock, gripping a long spade. Chestnut leaves hang overhead, and a castle sits on a sunlit crag above a green lake. The bright, saturated palette matches Parrish's advertising and calendar work of the 1920s; the title has not been confirmed.

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  A tiny robed figure with a staff points toward a cave mouth in a wall of enormous gold lit boulders. A tall pine and a calm sea balance the scene at left. The setting recalls cave scenes from The Arabian Nights, which Parrish illustrated, but the exact plate and title still need confirmation.

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  This early version of Old King Cole is a three part mural Parrish painted for the Mask and Wig Club in Philadelphia, one of his first major commissions. Three fiddlers kick their legs in step before the seated king, while a servant hurries in with a bowl. The flat outlines and comic poses differ from his later, more famous Old King Cole mural for the St. Regis Hotel in New York.

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  One cowboy sits on a pale horse while another stands beside his saddled bay, both pausing on a violet strip of ground. Their reflections stretch into still yellow water below a wide glowing sky. Parrish painted Western subjects after his Arizona trip of the early 1900s. The title and publication of this image still need confirmation.

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  A long farmhouse with linked barns sits beneath a purple hillside, with dark pines around it and one lit window. A wide yellow meadow fills the foreground. The flat, stylized color reflects the rural landscapes Parrish painted after about 1931. The signature is visible lower left; the title and exact date have not been confirmed.

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  This painting is by Frederic Leighton, not Maxfield Parrish. A young mother lies on a patterned rug as her daughter offers her a cherry from a small basket. White lilies and a Japanese style screen with a crane fill the background, reflecting the Aesthetic taste of the 1860s. The work belongs to Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery in England.

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  A figure in a long red cloak bows to the reader inside a circular frame of dark trees, flowering shrubs and garden urns. Below, two small crouching figures support a panel lettered THE END. This is the final illustration from The Knave of Hearts by Louise Saunders, published in 1925 with Parrish's pictures and one of his most admired books.

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  A stone fountain stands at the center of a garden, surrounded by mounds of purple blossoms and tall dark trees touched with orange. The sky shifts from deep blue to green and pale yellow at the horizon. The photo includes the gold and blue frame. Title, date and medium of this painting still need confirmation.

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  A broad, dark tree stands on a hillside against blazing orange clouds, with two thin pines on the ridge beside it. Mountains across the lake catch the last red light. The strong silhouette against glowing sky is typical of Parrish's later landscapes. Title and date have not been confirmed.

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  Cleopatra lies among heaps of roses on a royal barge while oarsmen in headcloths row through a starlit night. Attendants sit and stand beneath a heavy dark canopy. Parrish painted Cleopatra in 1917 as artwork for a Crane's Chocolates candy box, one of several advertising commissions that brought his images into many homes.

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  A small nude figure sits at the root of a giant oak beside a still pool, almost lost in a forest of blue, green and gold foliage. The tree dominates the composition, showing how Parrish placed tiny figures within grand landscapes. Dreaming was published as an art print by the House of Art, and this reproduction includes its decorative frame.

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  A line of barns and sheds with snow covered roofs stretches across a pale field, painted quickly on tan paper with visible pencil marks. Two bare trees break the skyline. Sketches like this show how Parrish worked out compositions for his New England winter landscapes. Date and medium have not been confirmed.

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  Sunlit cliffs of gold and rose rise on both sides of a narrow canyon, where a waterfall drops into a rushing stream. A tall pine on red boulders frames the right side. The dramatic gorge and warm light reflect Parrish's romantic landscape work; title and date still need confirmation.

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  A grinning figure in bright red tights and a flowing cape steps forward and pulls apart heavy green curtains, as if opening a play. The strong red against green shows Parrish's bold use of complementary color. The figure resembles the stage manager in The Knave of Hearts (1925), but the exact plate still needs confirmation.

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  A red barn, farmhouse and sheds sit on a snowy slope, their windows glowing orange beneath a tall dark pine and a yellow full moon. Moonlight turns the drifts pale green against a deep blue sky. Parrish painted many such winter night scenes in his later years for Brown and Bigelow calendars. The title and date are not yet confirmed.

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  This painting is by Frederic Leighton, not Maxfield Parrish. A young girl in a shimmering gold robe sits cross legged on a patterned carpet, absorbed in a book on an inlaid folding stand. Dark tiles and gilt ornament behind her reflect Leighton's love of Middle Eastern decoration. The work is in the Tate collection in London.

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  A small boat crowded with turbaned sailors crests a wave beneath an enormous yellow sail that glows like a lantern. The sea below is deep indigo flecked with gold. The subject fits Parrish's seafaring scenes from The Arabian Nights, but the specific plate and title still need confirmation.

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  A slender figure stretches one arm upward as long golden drapery twists around her body and streams into the sky. Violet and orange storm clouds fill the background above a quiet meadow with two trees. Allegorical figures like this appeared in Parrish's calendar and advertising work; the title and date still need confirmation.

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  A pale figure bends over a bank of golden blossoms beside a shallow stone basin, almost dissolving into the warm amber haze. Columns and foliage glow in the background. The soft, all over gold tone suggests a garden or decorative panel by Parrish; title and date still need confirmation.

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  Two tall pines rise from rose tinted rocks beside a small, mirror still lake. Beyond, a valley with a white village leads to layered blue mountains under bright, broken clouds. Parrish built many later landscapes from studies around his New Hampshire home. Title and date of this work have not been confirmed.

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  Tall rock spires glow orange and violet above a desert valley crossed by bands of bright light. A single dark tree stands on a boulder in front, with white clouds rising behind the peaks. The vivid contrast of blue shadow and warm rock is typical of Parrish's later landscapes; the title and date still need confirmation.

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  White blue rapids pour over mossy golden rocks, framed by a dark leafy tree at left and blazing orange autumn trees at right. A house glimmers in the misty distance under blue cliffs. The intense color fits Parrish's calendar landscapes of the 1930s and 1940s. Title and date are not confirmed.

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  A farmhouse with glowing windows sits among trees beside a calm pond that mirrors the deep blue sky. A small rowboat rests by a wooden dock beneath a huge spreading tree, while a distant hill turns pink. The signature at lower right appears dated around 1950. The exact title has not been confirmed.

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  A fair haired girl kneels to open a small oven door while a young man in a feathered cap and purple cloak watches with a hand at his chin. Pewter plates line a shelf above, and a copper kettle gleams at left. The costumes and tart making theme match The Knave of Hearts (1925); the exact plate title still needs confirmation.

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  A white farmhouse with green shutters and an attached barn stands under an enormous dark tree. A thin stream winds past a granite ledge in the foreground as the sky fades from blue to gold. The signature is visible at lower left. Scenes like this filled Parrish's Brown and Bigelow calendars from the late 1930s; the title is not confirmed.

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  This tall version of Parrish's lute players places the three young women at the bottom of the frame, with huge orange and gold trees filling the space above them against a deep blue sky. Comparing it with the horizontal version shows how Parrish adapted one composition to different formats. The exact title and date of this version still need confirmation.

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  A woman in a golden gown and long pale cape, strings of pearls in her hair, pauses on stone garden steps. Pink, red and orange roses spill over the balustrade beside her against a deep blue evening sky. The rich costume and glowing light are typical of Parrish's romantic figure paintings; title and date need confirmation.

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  A rutted dirt road climbs through patches of sunlight and shade toward a white house with a red roof, half hidden by big leafy trees. White clouds drift in a blue sky. The everyday rural subject reflects Parrish's later focus on New England landscapes. Title and date still need confirmation.

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  A round faced king in spectacles and a tall gold hat steps through an arch holding an orb and scepter. Two guards in striped sleeves, breastplates and plumed helmets frame him with long trumpets, while two attendants peek from behind. The humor and costume design match The Knave of Hearts (1925); the exact plate title needs confirmation.

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  A huge oak with rust and gold leaves arches over a stone house set behind a low wall, while a small waterfall spills over rocks beside steps leading up from the stream. The sky glows blue between the branches. The signature is visible lower right. This calendar style landscape still needs its title and date confirmed.

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  A painter in a broad hat and long coat sits on rounded rocks, palette and brushes in one hand, the other raised with a brush toward the scene. Behind him a flat blue sea meets pale dunes under a violet sky. The bold silhouette suggests a magazine cover design; title and date still need confirmation.

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  Two mirror image cooks in tall white hats lean toward each other over a gleaming gold pot, each holding a huge spoon. Above them hangs an ornate clock decorated with hearts, framed by an arch and columns. The symmetry and heart motifs fit The Knave of Hearts (1925); the exact plate title still needs confirmation.

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  A weathered mill with a wooden balcony stands over a narrow stream winding through mossy boulders. Gold and violet cliffs rise behind, half veiled by mist, beneath a canopy of glowing leaves. The scene reflects Parrish's later calendar landscapes, though its title and date still need confirmation.

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  A white meetinghouse with a clock tower, belfry and slender spire catches the last warm light, while tall pines and a deep blue sky with early stars surround it. Long blue shadows cross the snowy or sandy slope in front. The signature at lower left appears dated in the 1950s. The title has not been confirmed.

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  An ochre villa with a red tile roof overlooks walled garden terraces, stone stairs, urns and clipped shrubs, beneath towering clouds. The subject matches the garden views Parrish painted to illustrate Edith Wharton's Italian Villas and Their Gardens (1904). Which villa is shown, and the work's exact title, still need confirmation.

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  A tall sycamore with pale bark and russet leaves leans over a quiet river, while a red covered bridge and a white steeple appear among trees behind. Soft clouds drift over distant hills. Covered bridges and village steeples were favorite New England motifs in Parrish's later work; title and date still need confirmation.

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  Three young women in light robes lounge at the edge of a long reflecting pool, flanked by enormous golden urns and dense flowering shrubs. Their reflections repeat in the still water below. Parrish painted Garden of Allah for a Crane's Chocolates box, and it later sold widely as a print through the House of Art.

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  This tondo is by Frederic Leighton, not Maxfield Parrish. The three Hesperides drowse beneath a tree of golden apples, a serpent coiled around them and white herons at their feet. The circular format folds the figures into a curved, dreamy design. The painting is held by the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight, England.

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  A tall pine with light catching its layered branches rises beside a modest farmhouse on a sunlit ridge. Rolling green hills and violet slopes stretch behind under a deep blue sky. The simplified forms and strong color contrasts belong to Parrish's later landscape period; title and date are not confirmed.

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  A massive snowy mountain glows pink and gold in low winter sun, towering over a farmhouse, barns and two bare trees. The valley floor lies in cool violet shadow. Parrish painted many New Hampshire winter views from near his Plainfield home; the title, date and exact location of this one still need confirmation.

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  A single rider in a wide hat guides his horse up a dusty canyon trail, dwarfed by orange lit cliffs and a dark rock wall in shadow. The flat, poster like color suggests Parrish's Western magazine illustrations from his early 1900s visit to Arizona. Title and publication still need confirmation.

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  A tall pine painted in cool blues rises against a sky fading from green to indigo, while a low farmhouse with warm lit windows sits among dark shrubs. The fine crackle in the surface shows the age of the reproduction. This later Parrish landscape still needs its title and date confirmed.

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  Two young women glide in a flat boat beneath towering trunks, one standing to push with a pole while the other leans over the side. Fiery red and orange leaves fill the canopy, and a pale waterfall glows behind them. A copyright line appears at lower right. The title and date still need confirmation.

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  A small village with a white steeple, houses and a long red barn sits in a snowy valley, a deep blue stream curving through the foreground. Hills behind are tinted pink and violet by low winter sun. Scenes like this were popular on Parrish's Brown and Bigelow calendars; the title and date still need confirmation.

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  A young woman in a pale tunic leans back on a sunlit boulder beneath an orange leaved tree, gazing toward distant peaks. Below her a blue lake winds between cliffs touched with gold. Single figures set high above water and mountains were a recurring theme in Parrish's calendar art; title and date still need confirmation.

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  This darker reproduction shows the same New England church as another image in this gallery, its clock tower and spire pale against a deep blue night sky with stars. A tall pine casts the facade partly into shadow. Color differences between prints of the same Parrish painting are common. Title and date still need confirmation.

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  A young woman with red gold curls sits on a rock and looks toward the viewer, while blue and violet cliffs rise behind her around a glowing waterfall. Green water foams in the foreground. The cool palette suggests moonlight or dusk. This appears to be calendar art by Parrish; the title and date still need confirmation.

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  A small child sits hunched on a rock in the middle of a perfectly still lake, arms wrapped around raised knees. Cliffs, blue mountains and a golden tree are mirrored in the water. The quiet symmetry and reflections are typical of Parrish's 1920s print subjects; the title still needs confirmation.

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  Massive rounded rocks in violet, blue and rust frame a narrow gorge, where rushing blue green water catches a soft glow from deep inside the canyon. No figure appears; the setting closely matches the gorge in another image in this gallery. Title, date and relationship between the two still need confirmation.

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  Two young women in short sleeveless dresses lie on a mossy ledge and peer over a cascading waterfall. A tall pine and rose tinted cliffs rise behind. The bobbed hair and dresses place it in the late 1920s or early 1930s, when Parrish painted similar scenes for the Edison Mazda calendars. Title and date need confirmation.

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  This cover for The Outing Magazine places a robed figure seated in a stone niche beneath a huge pale tree with bare, branching limbs. Two lion statues guard the corners, and a scrolled panel frames the base. The tight architectural layout shows Parrish's early training in architecture. The issue date has not been confirmed.

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  This warmer reproduction shows the same composition as another image in the gallery: a woman in a golden gown and long pale cape on garden steps, roses spilling over the balustrade and early stars in a dark blue sky. The stronger contrast here brings out the glow of her dress. Title and date still need confirmation.

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  Layered buttes of orange, rose and violet rock step down into a deep canyon, where a narrow river winds through shadow. The flat bands of color simplify the vast space into a strong design. The view resembles the Grand Canyon, which Parrish visited in the early 1900s, but the location and title have not been confirmed.

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  A crowd in eighteenth century costume, including a masked figure and a mandolin player, gathers under round glowing lanterns beneath dark arches. Warm amber light picks out faces against deep shadow. The subject suggests a Venetian carnival scene Parrish illustrated for a magazine in the early 1900s; the exact title still needs confirmation.

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  Slender white birches rise from a bright, sunlit snowbank, their thin branches crisp against an intense blue sky. The foreground slope lies in lavender shadow with dark rocks and dry shrubs poking through. The bold division of light and shade is typical of Parrish's winter landscapes; the title and date have not been confirmed.

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  This close crop focuses on the two young women from Parrish's waterfall scene shown elsewhere in this gallery. One in violet sits above, the other in lilac leans on the rock, both looking toward the falling water. The detail reveals the fine modeling of skin and fabric in his glazed technique.

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  A mill building with a wooden balcony and wheel sits over a stream that winds through a glowing red and orange canyon. Overhanging branches frame the scene in dark silhouette. The composition closely matches another mill image in this gallery, painted in warmer evening tones. Title and date still need confirmation.

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  This detail comes from The Painter's Honeymoon by Frederic Leighton, not Maxfield Parrish. A young woman in a lustrous olive green dress leans against her husband, who sits drawing, with a potted lemon tree behind them. Leighton's careful rendering of silk and light is clear in this crop. The full painting is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

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  A small figure sits on a garden wall beside a tall stone urn heaped with flowers, near the arched doorway of a rose colored villa. Behind, golden cliffs and a slender waterfall rise in hazy light beneath dark leaves. The tall format suggests a print or calendar image; title and date still need confirmation.

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  Two riders pause on a flat orange plain, one raising his arm in greeting, while a lone red rock formation sits on the horizon. A huge deep blue sky fills more than half the picture. The bold, simple bands of color recall Parrish's Arizona subjects of the early 1900s; title and publication still need confirmation.

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  Tall cypresses and a tree with a glowing red trunk frame a garden path leading to a pale villa facade beneath white clouds. Steps, a fountain basin and clipped shrubs fill the middle ground. The subject matches Parrish's illustrations for Edith Wharton's Italian Villas and Their Gardens (1904); which villa is shown still needs confirmation.

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  A young woman crowned with ivy lifts a cymbal in each hand, her dark green robe and cloak swirling around her against a flat gold arched background. The classical figure and drapery closely match the work of Frederic Leighton rather than Maxfield Parrish. The title, date and attribution of this painting still need confirmation.

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  A tall stone obelisk wrapped in climbing vines rises from a sunlit terrace, with garden statues and dark trees beyond and snow capped mountains on the horizon. The view belongs to the Italian garden subjects Parrish painted for Italian Villas and Their Gardens (1904); the specific villa and plate title still need confirmation.

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  The messenger god Mercury, in a winged cap and a flowing red cloak, stands on a dark rock with one hand on a serpent topped caduceus. Clouds drift below a rich blue sky. The heroic pose suggests an allegorical or advertising design by Parrish; the title, date and original purpose still need confirmation.

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  A small nude figure sits on the rim of a rippling pool, while sunlight catches a villa tower, a balustrade and stone urns across the water. Dark overhanging leaves frame the view. The scene relates to Parrish's Italian garden subjects of the early 1900s. Title, date and medium have not been confirmed.

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Related Reading on WooArts

• Norman Rockwell
• Famous American Artists and Where to See Their Work
• 100 Notable Pioneers of American Painters
• Chiaroscuro Explained: How Light and Dark Build Drama

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