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Maxfield Parrish: Painter of Magical Make-Believe

Inspiring biography of an artist whose colorful imaginative art appeared on ads, books, calendars, candy boxes, cards, illustrations, posters, and murals. Prints of Maxfield's work hung in millions of homes across America, and during the 1930s, he was considered one of the three most popular artists in the world. In his sixties, Maxfield fulfilled a lifelong dream by painting only landscapes from that time on. For twenty-seven years, he delighted millions of people with scenes of a "good place to be in." He painted until he was ninety-one and died a few years later in 1966.

REVIEWS, etc.:

"An affectionate tribute to an influential illustrator whose 'art brightened millions of homes'."—Publishers Weekly

"Liberally illustrated with Parrish's dreamlike posters and paintings..."—The Horn Book Guide to Children's and Young Adult Books

"Maxfield Parrish: Painter of Magical Make-Believe" is especially recommended for school and community library American Artist collections, and a pleasure for non-specialist general readers to browse through from beginning to end.—Midwest Book Review, Children's Bookwatch, The Art Shelf

"...the fascinating content shines a spotlight on a significant painter whose life’s work should be known to all fans of painting, regardless of age."—Julie Cummins, Booklist

"...a real pleasure to look through it and read the text that works so well with the images...of course, the greatest pleasure was to see the images from Haverford's holdings."—Diana Franzusoff Peterson, Manuscripts Librarian and College Archivist, Haverford College, Pennsylvania

"How fascinating that Mr. Parrish became interested in oil paints while curing from tuberculosis here in Saranac Lake! His artwork was a gift to the world, and now your beautifully rendered biography brings his many contributions to life for a new generation."—Kim Godreau, Institutional Advancement Administrator, Trudeau Institute, Saranac Lake, NY

"Maxfield Parrish: Painter of Magical Make-Believe by Lois V. Harris...contains 2 of the 4 Maxfield Parrish paintings we have in our Reading Room...These paintings are part of the Ferry-Morse Seed Co. archives. Come see our famous paintings soon."—Special Collections Department Blog, University Library, UC Davis