Maxfield Parrish: A Treasury of Art and Children's Literature

K Up?Gilbert has collected 34 of the popular artist's paintings done to illustrate such books as The Arabian Nights, edited by Kate Wiggins and Nora Smith (Scribners, 1993); Nathaniel Hawthorne's Wonder-Tales and Tanglewood Tales (Duffield, 1910; o.p.); and Eugene Field's Poems of Childhood (Airmont, 1969). There are also those that are based on fairy tales and well-known characters from traditional rhymes. Although most of the pictures are accompanied by brief retellings of the stories they illustrated, readers may want to seek out the original versions, especially the myths, for better understanding. The full-color reproductions give viewers a sense of the artist's style?his use of color, light and shadow, and bold movements to convey mystery and wonder. While the layout and design are generally well done, it is curious that the reproduction of the illustration for Kenneth Grahame's Reluctant Dragon is reversed inside the book, though not on the cover. Notes about the artist and about Gilbert's lifelong interest in his work provide a useful overview. Source notes, as well as an index, make this an easy-to-use reference for students of children's book illustration. Those who want to know more will find much to explore in Coy Ludwig's Maxfield Parrish (Schiffer, 1973) and Paul W. Skeeter's Maxfield Parrish (Nash, 1973; o.p.).?Virginia Golodetz, St. Michael's College, Winooski, VT
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Although tastefully executed, this homage to the great illustrator Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966) seems more resurrection than rediscovery. An art dealer and Parrish collector, Gilbert chooses about 35 works produced between 1897 and 1923, from the beginning of Parrish's career until its height. Illustrations for tales from the Arabian Nights, fairy tales, verses by Eugene Field, Mother Goose rhymes and myths allow for plentiful exposure to Parrish's unique style. Nevertheless, the grainy quality of the reproductions interferes with a full appreciation of the art. The text doesn't seem chosen with children in mind, either. A number of Field's poems, for example, are for Edwardian tastes only. Gilbert herself retells the stories, condensing them from the expansive versions of Charles Perrault, Nathaniel Hawthorne et al. so that they don't occupy more than one or two pages. Unfortunately, her renditions are pedestrian and feel rushed, completely unreflective of Parrish's enigmatic eroticism. An afterword, pointing out such hallmarks of Parrish's style as the artist's "use of heroic drapery billowing magnificently around his figure," simply preaches to the converted. Ages 8-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.