Howard Pyle Art

A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Howard Pyle (Born 1853 – Died 1911) was an author and illustrator, primarily of books for young people. He spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. He taught illustration at Drexel University (formerly the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry). After 1900, he started his own school of art and illustration, and he called it the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art. He crafted a unique approach to the illustration art by immersing himself in the art of his time. His illustrations appeared in magazines like Scribner’s Magazine, St. Nicholas, and Harper’s Monthly, gaining him international exposure. Some of Pyle’s more notable students were Frank Schoonover, N. C. Wyeth, Ethel Franklin Betts, Elenore Abbott, Harvey Dunn, Anna Whelan Betts, Jessie Willcox Smith, Philip R. Goodwin, Clyde O. DeLand, Violet Oakley, Thornton Oakley, Olive Rush, Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle, Elizabeth Shippen Green, Allen Tupper True, William James Aylward, and Arthur E. Becher. His studio and home in Wilmington is still standing and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This is where he taught his students. Pyle is credited with coming up what has become the stereotype (modern) of pirate dress, and he’s also well known for his illustrations of pirates. He also illustrated adventure and historical stories for periodicals. In 1910 Pyle traveled to Florence, Italy to study mural painting. The following year he died of Bight’s Disease, a sudden kidney infection. He left behind a rich legacy including framed Howard Pyle.