This fascinating story is based on 323 previously unknown hand written letters that the artist wrote during the years of 1936 to 1941 to a young, intellectual, and beautiful woman with whom he fell madly in love late in his career. The identity of this lady had not appeared in the Parrish family papers and is disclosed here for the first time ever. The letters are romantic, poetic, and full of the descriptive beauty of the surrounding area. They depict life as it happened in the Cornish Colony of New Hampshire where Parrish lived and worked. The book is replete with beautiful full color photographs of Parrish’s property, the local landscape, and of the major paintings he completed during this period when he was under the spell of this beautiful young woman. In one of his letters quoted in the book, Parrish tells her his love for her is inspirational and consequently, he’s doing the best work of his career. “Can I ever give you the deep joy your letter gave me? Tears for me on a hilltop: I’d forgotten I had them too, ‘til I read that first page….Topsy Turvy, M.P.” ----------Maxfield Parrish to N. L. R. Sept. 26, 1936 “Why is it there comes over me such loneliness and longing when great beauty is about? Golden sunlight in the afternoons is well nigh suffering now." ----------Maxfield Parrish to N. L. R. Oct. 7, 1936 “Your dear letter flooded the place with happiness: I feel at one with the clear light outside, the quiet white hills in communion with the sun a perfect understanding one made for the other…..” -----------Maxfield Parrish to N. L. R. Jan. 6, 1937 The letters are tied to the historic happenings not only in Parrish’s personal life, but also to the momentous local and world events, such as the great New England Hurricane of 1938, the outbreak of World War II in 1939, and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s historic 1940 third term election. They are documented by over 78 photos of the Parrish diary entries involving the mysterious person only known as “N.R.” Parrish was drawn to Nancy on many levels: intellectual, emotional and his eternal admiration for beauty found in their enjoyment of classical music, the landscape and his appreciation of beauty and youth in all its many components embodied in her.

Maxfield Parrish: The Secret Letters

Arts & Photography

Gilbert, Alma

History & Criticism

Alma Gilbert, Inc.

This new, revised and expanded edition of Alma Gilbert’s compilation of best known children’s fairy tales and poems has been gathered and retold by the author, who was an avid collector of fairy tales and children’s poems from the time she could read at the age of four. The book uses the paintings of Maxfield Parrish to capture the magic of each poem or story. These illustrations captivate all ages and audiences. This is a book which can be enjoyed by both children as they hear it read for the first time, as well as by adults while remembering the joy of reading these stories and poems in earlier years.

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

ALMA GILBERT BOOKS

A collection of classic stories and rhymes includes "Old King Cole," "Snow White," "Wynken Blynken and Nod," and "The Frog Prince," all complemented by Maxfield Parrish's traditional and beautiful children's illustrations.

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

Atheneum

Alma Gilbert, renowned expert on the art of Maxfield Parrish, and the history of the Cornish, New Hampshire art colony, brings her forty plus years of experience as a museum owner and curator to this, her first venture in fiction. Her plucky heroine, Maggie Winters, an elderly Vermont museum director, is suddenly faced with the apparent theft of a recently donated and very valuable Maxfield Parrish painting. Gilbert uses the calm beauty of rural Vermont as the setting for an exciting and fast-paced story of the museum's efforts to uncover the whereabouts of the painting. Along the way, Maggie, her friends and loyal staff must cope with a group of unsavory characters who are attempting to seize the painting for their own use. Thwarted by the painting's sudden disappearance, the group resorts to murder in an attempt to locate the prized painting before Maggie can solve the mystery of its disappearance. Can Maggie win the race against time with her opponents?

The Case of the Purloined Parrish

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

Alma Gilbert Books & Publishing

Maxfield Parrish (1870 - 1966) was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. Parrish was one of the most successful and prolific of the illustrators and painters of the Golden Age of Illustration. He was earning over $100,000 per year by 1910, at a time when a fine home could be purchased for $2,000. Norman Rockwell referred to Parrish as "my idol." Parrish, although unique in his execution and never duplicated, exhibited considerable influence upon other illustrators and artists, an influence which continues through the present. His original paintings are highly sought-after when they come to market, as well as his first-edition prints, which continue to command high prices at both auction and through private sales. His exacting attention to detail preceded the Photorealist and Hyper-Realist art movements, and his abundant imagination and love of fantasy elements have also influenced artists in myriad media. Parrish's art features dazzlingly luminous colors; the color Parrish blue was named in acknowledgement. He achieved the results by means of a technique called glazing where bright layers of oil color separated by varnish are applied alternately over a base rendering (Parrish usually used a blue and white monochromatic underpainting).He would build up the depth in his paintings by photographing, enlarging, projecting and tracing half- or full-size objects or figures. Parrish then cut out and placed the images on his canvas, covering them with thick, but clear, layers of glaze. The result is realism of elegiac vivacity. The posters in this book include: The Canyon, The Gulnare of the Sea, The Millpond, Land of Make-Believe, Harvest, Cadmus Sowing the Dragon's Teeth, Wild Geese, White Birch/Winter, The Manager Draws the Curtain, Waterfall, Air Castles, Prometheus, Poets Dream, Venice--Twilight, Garden of Allah, and 12 others.

The Maxfield Parrish Poster Book

Pomegranate

This affordable oversize paperback provides an unusual glimpse into the painter's life, and particularly his relationship with model Sue Lewin, with an unusual interplay of black-and-white photographs and full-color plates, showing how Lewin's simple poses became fully realized fantasies under the brush of the master.

The Make Believe World of Maxfield Parrish and Sue Lewin

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

Maxfield Parrish (1870–1966) remains one of America’s most beloved artists, widely known for his incredibly detailed and lavish works. His landscapes are perhaps the least well known of his masterpieces, although they were the closest to his heart. Indeed, in his later years, Parrish dedicated himself almost entirely to landscape scenes, sometimes reworking earlier pieces to remove human figures. In this witty and illuminating book, Parrish expert Alma Gilbert argues persuasively that Parrish’s better-known illustration career was a thirty-five-year detour on his path to achieving his true goal, a dedication to reproducing nature in all its splendor. The 50-plus color plates in this book show how masterfully he achieved that goal, while the text provides fascinating insight into the stories behind these glorious images. Also featured are lovely photos of Parrish’s estate, The Oaks, where he found refuge and inspiration, shots of the artist and his family, and hitherto unpublished correspondence. Together, these elements help sketch in the context surrounding this remarkable man and his extraordinary art. A feast for the senses, this is truly a book for any art lover, whether familiar with Parrish’s marvelous landscapes, or on the brink of a wonderful discovery.

Maxfield Parrish: The Landscapes

Individual Artists

Ten Speed Press+

The Make-Believe World of Maxfield Parrish and Sue Lewin

Maxfield Parrish is one of Americas greatest twentieth-century illustrators. His works found their way into nearly a quarter of homes across the country in the 1920s. Parrishs paintings combine romanticism, bold colors, dramatic lighting, and classical costumes that have become synonymous with his style. In Maxfield Parrish Masterworks, biographer Alma Gilbert celebrates the artists career and shows us some of his greatest creations. Wall hanging, full color, 11 by 14 inches

Maxfield Parrish Masterworks 2003 Calendar

Calendars

Arts

Tide-Mark Pr Ltd

Luminous landscapes. Stunning scenery. Courageous colors. All this and more describes the amazing body of work by one of America’s most popular artists, Maxfield Parrish. Now in its third edition with updated pricing, ownership, and trends, The Masterworks stands as the authoritative collection of Parrish’s best works. Compiled by longtime Parrish expert and curator Alma Gilbert, The Masterworks brings together the most popular, most important, and most fanciful of Parrish’s paintings. Here you’ll find the glorious Dinkey Bird, the extensive Florentine Fête murals, the amazing Interlude, and the sublime Daybreak. Also included are some of Parrish’s lesser-known works, through which we see the development of the artist’s style and technique. Through historical analysis, contemporary news clippings, and letters from the artist himself, we get to know Parrish the man, discovering the genius behind the artwork. Updated with all the current Parrish information, this new edition of The Masterworks continues the grand tradition of celebrating Parrish’s work, and bringing his oeuvre to the public.

Maxfield Parrish: The Masterworks

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Books by Gilbert, Alma