MWW Artwork of the Day (4/10/16)Louis John Rhead (British/American, 1857–1926)Prang’

MWW Artwork of the Day (4/10/16)
Louis John Rhead (British/American, 1857–1926)
Prang’s Easter Publications (1895)
Commercial lithography; yellow, light brown, blue, green, red, purple & gold, 23 ¼ x 16 3/8 in.

Rhead was an English-born American artist, illustrator, author and angler who was born in Etruria, Staffordshire, England. He emigrated to the United States at the age of twenty-four.  In the early 1890s, Rhead became a prominent poster artist and was heavily influenced by the work of Swiss artist Eugène Grasset. During the poster craze of the early 1890s, Rhead’s poster art appeared regularly in Harper’s Bazaar, Harper’s Magazine, St. Nicolas, Century Magazine, Ladies Home Journal and Scribner’s Magazine. In 1895 he won a Gold Medal for Best American Poster Design at the first International Poster Show in Boston.

By the late 1890s, the popularity of poster art declined and Rhead turned his skills to book illustration. Between 1902 and his death in 1926, Rhead illustrated numerous children’s books published by Harpers and others. Most notable among these were editions of: Robin Hood, The Swiss Family Robinson, Robinson Crusoe, The Deerslayer, Treasure Island, Kidnapped and Heidi.

Louis Prang (1824–1909) was an American printer, lithographer and publisher. He is sometimes known as the “father of the American Christmas card”.  In 1864, Prang went to Europe to learn about cutting-edge German lithography. Returning the next year, Prang began to create high quality reproductions of major art works. Prang also began creating series of popular album cards, advertised to be collected into scrapbooks, showing natural scenes and patriotic symbols. At Christmas 1873, Prang began creating greeting cards for the popular market in England and began selling the Christmas card in America in 1874. Therefore, he is sometimes called the “father of the American Christmas card.” Prang is also known for his efforts to improve art education in the US, publishing instructional books and creating a foundation to train art teachers.

(adapted from Wikipedia articles)

For more classic poster art, see this MWW Special Collection:
* MWW Poster Alley