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| Artist: Louis Rhead
American (1857-1926) | | Plate: PL. 220 |
| Title: Morning Journal | Description:
Condition A. Original lithograph from
"Les Maitre de L'Affiches" series.
Printed
by Imprimerie Chaix, Paris, 1900.
Presented in 16 x 20 in. acid free, archival museum mat, with framing
labels. Ready to frame. Shipped boxed flat.
Certificate of Authenticity.
See our Terms
of Sale |
| Maitre Sheet Size: | 11 3/8 in x
15 3/4 in | | | 29 cm x 40 cm |
|
| Price: $650.00 USD On
Sale $450 |
|
Full size (B Condition) sold for $ 4,370 US
Swann Auction Galleries, N.Y. Dec. 2003. (Rare)
"Rhead always paid close attention to the decorative
side of poster design, and we can discern this in the minutely detailed patterns
on the woman's dresses, the rooster's feathers, and even the veins on leaves.
It all adds up to virtually all the ingredients of art nouveau, which was just
coming into vogue. Rhead was the only American artist to achieve the distinction
of having a solo exhibition of his poster work both in London (1896) and in Paris
(1897)... Born in England, Rhead arrived in New York in 1883 to work for publisher
D.Appleton. Independently, he also designed book covers and bindings, and even
contributed patterns for art needlework to women's magazines. His first poster
proved him to be a master. He understood lithography and made his designs easy
on the printer. Perhaps for that reason, he was avidly sought after to design
posters for newspapers and periodicals"
(Rennert, PAI-XXXI, 467,468)
Louis Rhead in his studio 1920
Louis Rhead The Rhead family had operated and worked
in the Staffordshire Potteries for at least 3 generations. Louis’s
father George W. Rhead worked in the pottery industry and was highly
respected gilder and ceramic artist. In the 1870s, George Rhead taught
art and design in Staffordshire schools. Louis and all his siblings
attended their father’s art classes and worked in the potteries as
children. Because Louis demonstrated exceptional talent, when he was
13 in 1872, his father sent him to study in Paris with artist Gustave
Boulanger. After 3 years in Paris, Rhead returned to work in the potteries
as a ceramic artist.
In 1883 at the age of 24 Rhead was offered a position as Art Director
for the publishing firm of D. Appleton in New York City. He accepted
and emigrated to the U.S. in the fall of 1883. There he married Catherine
Bogart Yates, thus becoming an American citizen. They lived in Flatbush
overlooking Prospect Park for 40 years.
In the early 1890s, Rhead became a prominent poster artist and was
heavily influenced by the work of Swiss artist Eugène
Grasset. During the poster craze of the early 1890s, Rhead’s poster
art appeared regularly in Harper's Bazaar, Century Magazine, Ladies
Home Journal, and Scribner's Magazine. In 1895 he won a Gold Medal
for Best American Poster Design at the first International Poster
Show in Boston. By the late 1890s, the popularity of poster art declined
and Rhead turned to book illustration. Between 1902 and his death
in 1926, Rhead illustrated numerous children's books. Most notable
were editions of Robin Hood, The Swiss Family Robertson, Treasure
Island, and Heidi (see image below).
Rhead book illustration, Heidi 1925
Rhead's death was somewhat unusual. He died from a heart attack at
his retirement home in Amityville, Long Island. A portion of his obituary
in The New York Friday July 30, 1926: LOUIS RHEAD, ARTIST AND ANGLER,
DEAD. Exhausted Recently by Long Struggle In Capturing a 30-pound
Turtle. ... About two weeks ago Mr. Rhead set out to catch a turtle
weighing thirty pounds which had been devastating trout ponds on his
place, Seven Oaks. After the turtle was hooked, it put up a fight
for more than half an hour. Although Mr. Rhead was successful in the
end, he became exhausted. A short time later he suffered from his
first attack of heart disease. Yesterday's was his second. (absoluteastronomy.com)
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