One of the most popular American artists of the twentieth century and one of the most prolific, in his long career Maxfield Parrish produced book and magazine illustrations, landscapes, advertisements, posters, and murals. Although many of his paintings initially give the impression of a meticulous devotion to realism, he actually had a highly individual approach to color and lighting, and many of his most famous illustrations depict giants, dragons, genies, centaurs, mythical kingdoms, and enchanted palaces. Observers of Parrish's work have pointed out that what he really did was rearrange and improve on reality.

Parrish was born in Philadelphia. His father was a landscape painter and etcher. Parrish initially intended to be an architect, but soon shifted to illustration. By the middle 1890s he was starting to get work doing magazine covers. His first was for Harper's Weekly. In 1897 Parrish illustrated his first book...