Edward Penfield received his training at the Art Students League in New York City. He went on to become the art director at Harper's magazine and also designed a series of monthly posters for Harper's that won enormous critical acclaim. By the turn of the century, Penfield's reputation as an important graphic designer was assured.
The Harper's posters have been characterised as the definitive graphic works of the 1890s. Penfield took full advantage of recent improvements in colour printing to create works that were effective vehicles of communication and also aesthetically engaging. Less concerned with the dramatic curving lines of Art Nouveau than his contemporary Will Bradley, Penfield synthesised a number of stylistic sources in his work, including Japanese prints and those of French artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Jules Chéret.
After leaving Harper's in 1901, Penfield continued to be extremely active in both design and illustration. In addition to posters for other magazines including Scribner's and Collier's, he executed illustrations and covers for many books and generated designs for numerous commercial concerns. Together with Will Bradley, Penfield was instrumental in creating the rich fabric of American graphic design work in the 1890s.
Biography from Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
This is part 1 of a 7-part series on the works of Edward Penfield:
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| 1880-1925 Collier's Magazine watercolour Library of Congress, Washington, DC |
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| 1881-1925 Man with Bulldog watercolour Library of Congress, Washington, DC |
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| 1884-95 Man in Dog Cart, Holland pen and ink Library of Congress, Washington, DC |
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| 1884-1925 "They're after me" pen and ink sketch Library of Congress, Washington, DC |
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| 1884-1925 Driver with Horse and Carriage watercolour Library of Congress, Washington, DC |
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| 1884-1925 Farmer Consulting Farmer's Almanac watercolour Library of Congress, Washington, DC |
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| 1884-1925 Girl with Tea Tray watercolour Library of Congress, Washington, DC |
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| 1884-1925 Lacrosse Player visual for Collier's Magazine watercolour Library of Congress, Washington, DC |
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| 1884-1925 Picnic Under Fir watercolour Library of Congress, Washington, DC |
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| 1886-1925 Plasmon - A Nourishing Food watercolour, ink and gouache Library of Congress, Washington, DC |
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| 1890-1900 Black & White Cigars lithograph 49 x 31 cm Library of Congress, Washington, DC |
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| 1890-1900 Galakton: A Nourishing Food colour lithograph 49 x 33 cm Library of Congress, Washington, DC |
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| 1890-1900 Harper's Bazar Midsummer Number colour lithograph poster 41.1 x 28.6 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1890-1900 Midland Railway of England colour lithograph poster 21 x 14 cm Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online, Boston Public Library, MA |
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| 1890-1900 Outing by Caspar Whitney, Midsummer Number colour lithograph 31 x 45.3 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1890-1900 The Illustrated Sporting News Christmas Number colour lithograph 36 x 26 cm Library of Congress, Washington, DC |
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| 1890-1907 Collier's Xmas One Million Copies colour lithograph poster 39 x 322 cm New York Public Library Digital Collection |
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| 1890-1907 International Athletics Outing Magazine colour lithograph poster 46 x 32 cm New York Public Library Digital Collection |
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| 1890-1907c Hart Schaffner & Marx Poster 67 x 64.5 cm New York Public Library Digital Collection |
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| 1890-1907c Orient Cycles colour lithograph poster 103 x 67 cm New York Public Library Digital Collection |
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| 1890-1920c Collier's X'mas "One Million Copies" colour lithograph poster 50 x 32 cm Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online, Boston Public Library, MA |
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| 1890-1920c Daily Boston Standard colour lithograph poster 49 x 62 cm Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online, Boston Public Library, MA |
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| 1890-1920c Woman Sitting on a Chair colour lithograph 26 x 25 cm Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online, Boston Public Library, MA |
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| 1890c Legal Holiday Washington's Birthday colour lithograph poster |
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| 1893 Harper's Magazine Poster March 1893 three colour lithograph 41.9 x 29 cm |
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| 1893 Harper's Magazine Poster April 1893 colour lithograph 44 x 33 cm Library of Congress, Washington, DC |
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| 1893 Harper's Magazine Poster May 1893 colour lithograph 47.7 x 33 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1893 Harper's Magazine Poster June 1893 colour lithograph 46.5 x 33 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1893 Harper's Magazine Poster August 1893 colour lithograph 49.1 x 34.3 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1893 Harper's Magazine Poster September 1893 colour lithograph 49.5 x 34.3 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1893 Harper's Magazine Poster October 1893 colour lithograph 42 x 29 cm Library of Congress, Washington, DC |
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| 1893 Harper's Magazine Poster November 1893 colour lithograph 49.6 x 34.4 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1893 Harper's Magazine Poster Christmas 1893 colour lithograph 47 x 30.4 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1893 Harper's Weekly August 1893 Summer Gardens in New York |
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| 1894 Harper's Magazine Poster January 1894 colour lithograph 44 x 30.2 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1894 Harper's Magazine Poster February 1894 colour lithograph 40.6 x 28.5 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1894 Harper's Magazine Poster March 1895 colour lithograph 44.9 x 34.3 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1894 Harper's Magazine Poster April 1895 colour lithograph 45.3 x 33.1 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1894 Harper's Magazine Poster May 1895 colour lithograph 41.4 x 33.4 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1894 Harper's Magazine Poster June 1894 colour lithograph 46.4 x 32.6 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1894 Harper's Magazine Poster July 1894 colour lithograph 45.5 x 31.9 cm de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA |
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| 1894 Harper's Magazine Poster August 1894 colour lithograph 42.5 x 32 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1894 Harper's Magazine Poster for September 1894 colour lithograph 41.6 x 27.1 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1894 Harper's Magazine Poster November 1894 colour lithograph 45.7 x 32.1 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1894 Harper's Magazine Poster December 1894 colour lithograph |
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| 1900-25 Orchestra watercolour Library of Congress, Washington, DC |