Collier’s Feb 22 1908

Edward Penfield prints bring the crisp, graphic style of the 1890s American poster into your home. Penfield is often called the father of the American poster: his monthly posters for Harper's Magazine used simple figures, bold outlines and flat colour that read clearly from across a room. Our collection of fine art prints includes his Harper's posters, Collier's covers, college and sporting designs, calendars, advertisements and First World War posters.

About Edward Penfield

Edward Penfield was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 2 June 1866, the son of Ellen Lock Moore and Josiah B. Penfield. He studied at the Art Students League of New York under George de Forest Brush, a painter known for romantic scenes of American Indian life.

He began working for Harper's, first drawing for Harper's Weekly and later becoming the firm's art director. From 1893 Harper commissioned him to design a poster every month to advertise Harper's Magazine, and he went on to design posters for around fifteen books published by Harper and Brothers. In 1896 he published Posters in Miniature, calling in its preface for a little more lightness and fun in graphic design. He was soon counted among the artists who made the poster an art form in the 1890s, alongside Alphonse Mucha, Théophile Steinlen and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in Europe.

Before the First World War he travelled in Europe and brought back many drawings, publishing Holland Sketches with Scribner's in 1907 and an album of Spanish sketches in 1911. He lived for much of his life in New Rochelle, New York, then home to an art colony of illustrators, writers and actors, and in 1912 he was a founding member of the New Rochelle Art Association. He died on 8 February 1925.

Style and Subjects

Penfield's posters are built to be seen at a glance. He used a few simple shapes, flat areas of colour and strong black outlines, and left out any detail the design did not need. A remark often quoted from him says that a design that needs study is not a poster. His early inspiration reportedly came from Egyptian sarcophagi at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

His subjects are the smart, sporting society of the American East Coast in the 1890s, shown with gentle humour: women reading magazines, golfers, cyclists, coach-and-four outings and college crews. The collection also includes his covers for Collier's and the Saturday Evening Post, posters for Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Cornell, and First World War posters for the Victory Girls and the United States School Garden Army.

Famous Works

• Harper's March (1897), Museum of Modern Art, New York. One of the monthly posters that made his name, with a single figure set against a plain ground.
• Vignettes of Manhattan (1894), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. A book poster for Brander Matthews's New York sketches, published by Harper.
• People We Pass. A Harper book poster for Julian Ralph's stories of life in New York City.
• Aetna Dynamite (1895). An advertising poster from the years when his Harper's work had made him famous.
• Orient Cycles (1895). A poster from the 1890s bicycle craze, advertising Orient bicycles.
• Ride a Stearns and Be Content (1896). Another cycling poster, and one of his best-known commercial designs.
• Golf Calendar (1899). A calendar of golfing scenes, showing his eye for sporting East Coast society.

Decorating with Penfield Prints

Penfield's flat colours and clean outlines look sharp in modern interiors and in rooms with a vintage or Arts and Crafts feel. The Harper's monthly posters make an easy set: hang several in a row along a hallway or staircase, or choose the month of a birthday or anniversary as a gift. A magazine poster such as Collier's, the national weekly suits a home office, reading nook or library.

For a den, games room or clubhouse, pick the sporting designs: golf, rowing, cycling and coaching. The college posters, such as Harvard or Yale, make a good gift for a graduate, and the cycling ads, like Ride a Stearns & be content, add a bright note to an entryway or garage studio.

FAQ

Why is Edward Penfield called the father of the American poster?

From 1893 he designed a new poster every month for Harper's Magazine, and these posters did for the United States what Mucha, Steinlen and Toulouse-Lautrec did in Europe. The Society of Illustrators places him among the most important American graphic designers.

What art movement was Edward Penfield part of?

He worked in the Golden Age of American Illustration, and his posters are often linked with Art Nouveau and the poster craze of the 1890s. He is also an important figure in the history of graphic design.

What is Edward Penfield's most famous work?

He is best known for his monthly Harper's Magazine posters of 1893 to 1899. One of them, Harper's March (1897), is in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

How can I recognise a Penfield poster?

Look for a few simple figures with heavy black outlines, flat areas of colour and almost no background. The scenes often show well-dressed people reading, travelling or playing sport, with a light touch of humour.

Related Artists

• Alphonse Mucha: Czech Art Nouveau poster artist, named with Penfield among the masters of the 1890s poster
• Théophile Alexandre Steinlen: Paris poster artist who popularised the poster in Europe as Penfield did in America
• Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: French painter whose posters were a European counterpart to Penfield's Harper's work
• Jules Chéret: French poster pioneer who edited Les Maîtres de l'affiche, which included a Penfield plate
• George de Forest Brush: Penfield's teacher at the Art Students League of New York