Howard Pyle

Howard Pyle

Howard Pyle was an American illustrator and author who lived from 1853 to 1911. He was one of the masters of the ‘Golden Age of Illustration.’ Norman Rockwell called him his hero.  Though his art is well-known, most people don’t recall the man.

Pyle was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and was interested in art at an early age. With the help of a loving push from his mother, Pyle studied at the studio of F. A. Van der Weilen in Philadelphia and took several classes at the Art Students League of New York. This was his only formal training.

In 1876, Howard Pyle wrote his first article on the Virginia island of Chincoteague which he submitted and subsequently published at Scribner’s Monthly.  He soon moved to New York, and though he initially struggled with the business and professional side of art, with the help of other artists, he soon succeeded.  After a double-page spread in the Harper’s Weekly, he became quite successful.

For years, Howard Pyle continued publishing in magazines, which exposed him to Americans across the country and made him a household name.  Pyle wrote and illustrated several of his own books, many of which are still in print today, such as The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, The Garden Behind the Moon, and his Book of Pirates. Pyle also taught at his own art school. One of his most well-known students was the illustrator, N. C. Wyeth.

Even Vincent Van Gogh was an admirer of Pyle, who wrote in a letter to his brother, Theo, that Pyle’s work “… struck me dumb with admiration.”  Pyle died in 1911 from a kidney infection at just 58 years old while on a trip to study the old masters in Italy, with his family.

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