Golden Age Illustrators

The books in this category feature art from the illustrators of the golden age. The Golden Age of Illustration was a period of unprecedented excellence in book and magazine illustration between the 1880s to the 1920s. It developed from advances in technology permitting accurate and inexpensive reproduction of art, combined with a voracious public demand for new graphic art.

In Europe, Golden Age artists were influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites and by such design-oriented movements as the Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau. Leading artists included Walter Crane, Edmund Dulac, Aubrey Beardsley, Arthur Rackham and Kay Nielsen.

American illustration of this period was anchored by the Brandywine Valley tradition, begun by Howard Pyle and carried on by his students, who included N.C. Wyeth and Maxfield Parrish.