Edward Penfield

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.

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 6 of a 7-part series on the works of Edward Penfield:

1907 The Saturday Evening Post June 8, 1907
colour lithograph 33 x 26 cm
Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online,
Boston Public Library, MA

1907 The Slim Princess
book cover 19 x 13 cm
published by Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis

1908 Collier's Weekly Magazine Poster February 22, 1908
colour lithograph 38 x 28 cm
Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online,
Boston Public Library, MA

1908 Collier's Weekly Magazine Poster September 19, 1908
colour lithograph 38 x 27 cm
Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online,
Boston Public Library, MA

1908 Morning Stroll with Russian Wolfhound
photolithograph

1908 Olds Motor Works
advertisement

1908c Olds Motor Works
advertisement

1908 Sunday Magazine of the Minneapolis Journal
February 2, 1908

1908 The Ladies Home Journal
August 1908

1909 Collier's Weekly Magazine Poster September 11, 1909
colour lithograph 38 x 28 cm
Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online,
Boston Public Library, MA

1909 Metropolitan Magazine
June 1909

1909 The Literary Digest
March 20, 1909

1909c Monsieur Fripponet
watercolour
Library of Congress, Washington, DC

1910 Collier's Magazine June 11, 1910
"Outdoor America"
colour lithograph

1910 Collier's Magazine February 1910
colour lithograph
New York Public Library Digital Collection

1910 Collier's Weekly Magazine Poster October 22, 1910
colour lithograph 38 x 28 cm
Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online,
Boston Public Library, MA

1910 Good Housekeeping
July 1910

1910 Hart Schaffner & Marx
"The Students" 32 x 25 cm
New York Public Library Digital Collection

1910-25 Hart, Schaffner & Marx clothing
watercolour
Library of Congress, Washington, DC

1910-25 Man and Woman Sitting on a Rug
advertisement for Hart, Schaffner & Marx
pen and ink
Library of Congress, Washington, DC

1910-25 Man Sitting beside a Chest
advertisement for Hart, Schaffner & Marx clothing
pen and ink
Library of Congress, Washington, DC

1910-25 Man with Book on Wicker Couch
advertisement for Hart, Schaffner & Marx clothing
pen and ink
Library of Congress, Washington, DC

1911 Fall Style Book: Hart Schaffner & Marx
colour lithograph 49.5 x 72.4 cm

1911 Spanish Man
watercolour

1912 Collier's Magazine Poster June 8, 1912 "The First Tee"
colour lithograph 38 x 27 cm
Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online,
Boston Public Library, MA

1912 Collier's Magazine September 14, 1912
"Good-by, Summer"colour lithograph

1913 Collier's Weekly Magazine Poster August 9, 1913
colour lithograph 38 x 27 cm
Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online,
Boston Public Library, MA

1913 Collier's Weekly Magazine Poster July 19, 1913
colour lithograph 38 x 27 cm
Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online,
Boston Public Library, MA

1913 Collier's Weekly November 15, 1913 Artwork "Football Player"
watercolour
Library of Congress, Washington, DC

1913 Collier's Weekly November 15, 1913
colour lithograph

1913 Metropolitan Magazine poster
lithograph

1913 The Girl Propostion by George Ade book cover
two-colour lithograph 14 x 10 cm
Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online,
Boston Public Library, MA.