Howard Pyle Popular Books

Howard Pyle Biography & Facts

Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator, painter, and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. In 1894, he began teaching illustration at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry (now Drexel University). Among his students there were Violet Oakley, Maxfield Parrish, and Jessie Willcox Smith. After 1900, he founded his own school of art and illustration named the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art. Scholar Henry C. Pitz later used the term Brandywine School for the illustration artists and Wyeth family artists of the Brandywine region, several of whom had studied with Pyle. He had a lasting influence on a number of artists who became notable in their own right; N. C. Wyeth, Frank Schoonover, Thornton Oakley, Allen Tupper True, Stanley Arthurs, and numerous others studied under him. His 1883 classic publication The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood remains in print, and his other books frequently have medieval European settings, including a four-volume set on King Arthur. He is also well known for his illustrations of pirates, and is credited with creating what has become the modern stereotype of pirate dress. He published his first novel Otto of the Silver Hand in 1888. He also illustrated historical and adventure stories for periodicals such as Harper's Magazine and St. Nicholas Magazine. His novel Men of Iron was adapted as the movie The Black Shield of Falworth (1954). Pyle travelled to Florence, Italy in 1910 to study mural painting. He died there in 1911 of a sudden kidney infection (Bright's disease). Life Pyle was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the son of William Pyle and Margaret Churchman Painter. As a child, he attended private schools and was interested in drawing and writing from a very young age. He was an indifferent student, but his parents encouraged him to study art, particularly his mother. He studied for three years at the studio of F. A. Van der Wielen in Philadelphia, and this constituted the whole of his artistic training, aside from a few lessons at the Art Students League of New York.In 1876, he visited the island of Chincoteague off Virginia and was inspired by what he saw. He wrote and illustrated an article about the island and submitted it to Scribner's Monthly. One of the magazine's owners was Roswell Smith, who encouraged him to move to New York and pursue illustration professionally. Pyle initially struggled in New York; his lack of professional experience made it difficult for him to translate his ideas into forms for publication. He was encouraged by several working artists, however, including Edwin Austin Abbey, A. B. Frost, and Frederick S. Church. He finally published a double-paged spread in the Harper's Weekly issue of March 9, 1878 and was paid $75—five times what he had expected. He became increasingly successful and was an established artist by the time that he returned to Wilmington in 1880. Pyle continued illustrating for magazines. He also collaborated on several books, particularly in American history. He wrote and illustrated his own stories, beginning with The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood in 1883. This book won international attention from critics such as William Morris. Over the following decades, he published many more illustrated works for children, many of which are still in print today. Pyle married singer Anne Poole on April 12, 1881, and the couple had seven children. In 1889, he and his wife sailed to Jamaica, leaving their children in the care of relatives. While they were overseas, their son Sellers died unexpectedly. This loss likely inspired his children's book The Garden Behind the Moon, which is about death and bears the dedication: "To the little Boy in the Moon Garden This Book is dedicated by His Father."From 1894 to 1900, he taught illustration at the Drexel Institute. In 1900, he created his own school in Wilmington where he taught a small number of students in depth. In 1903, Pyle painted his first murals for the Delaware Art Museum. He took up mural painting more seriously in 1906 and painted The Battle of Nashville in Saint Paul, as well as two other murals for courthouses in New Jersey (the Essex and Hudson County Courthouses). Pyle developed his own ideas for illustrating pirate dress, as few examples existed of authentic pirate outfits and few, if any, drawings had been preserved. He created a flamboyant style incorporating elements of Gypsy dress. His work influenced the design of costumes for movie pirates from Errol Flynn to Johnny Depp. It has been noted as highly impractical for working sailors.In 1910, Pyle and his family went to Italy where he planned to study the old masters. Suffering poor health, he felt depressed and drained of energy. After one year in the country, he suffered a kidney infection and died in Florence at the age of 58.In 1937, his niece Caroline Ashton Pyle married his student N. C. Wyeth's son Nathaniel Convers Wyeth. Major works Pyle wrote and illustrated a number of books, in addition to numerous illustrations done for Harper's Weekly, other periodical publications, and various works of fiction for children and young adults. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Pyle synthesized many traditional Robin Hood legends and ballads in this work, while toning them down to make them suitable for children. For instance, he modified the late 17th century ballad "Robin Hood's Progress to Nottingham", changing it from Robin killing fourteen foresters for not honoring a bet to Robin defending himself against an attempt on his life by one of the foresters. Pyle has Robin kill only two men, one who shoots at him first when he was a youth, the other a hated assassin named Guy of Gisborne whom the Sheriff sent to slay him. Tales are changed in which Robin steals all that an ambushed traveler carried, such as "Robin Hood and the Bishop of Hereford", so that the victim keeps a third and another third is dedicated to the poor. Pyle did not have much concern for historical accuracy, but he renamed the queen in the story "Robin Hood and Queen Katherine" as Eleanor (of Aquitaine). This made her compatible historically with King Richard the Lion-Hearted, with whom Robin eventually makes peace. Many of the tales in the Robin Hood book dated to the late Middle Ages. His achievement was to integrate them into a unified story, which he also illustrated. For example, he included "Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar" in the narrative order to reintroduce Friar Tuck. He needed a cooperative priest for the wedding of outlaw Allan a Dale to his sweetheart Ellen. In the original "A Gest of Robyn Hode", the life is saved of an anonymous wrestler who had won a bout but was likely to be murdered because he was a stranger. Pyle adapted it and gave the wrestler the identity of David of Doncaster, one of Robin's band in the story "Robin Hood and the Golden Arr.... Discover the Howard Pyle popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Howard Pyle books.

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  • Works of Howard Pyle synopsis, comments

    Works of Howard Pyle

    Howard Pyle

    9 works of Howard Pyle American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people (18531911) This ebook presents a collection of 9 works of Howard Pyle. A dynamic table o...

  • The Book of Pirates synopsis, comments

    The Book of Pirates

    Howard Pyle

    Fiction, fact and fancy concerning the bucaneers and marooners of the Spanish Main, from the writings of Howard Pyle.

  • King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table synopsis, comments

    King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

    Sidney Lanier & N. C. Wyeth

    King Arthur’s stories are timeless tales that have been told countless times since the fifteenth century when Sir Thomas Malory introduced them in Le Morte d’Arthur. The basis for ...

  • The Adventures of Robin Hood synopsis, comments

    The Adventures of Robin Hood

    Howard Pyle

    Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore, a highly skilled archer and swordsman. Although not part of his original character, since the begining of the 19th century he ha...

  • 5 Adventure Books by Howard Pyle synopsis, comments

    5 Adventure Books by Howard Pyle

    Howard Pyle

    This collection includes Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, Story of Launcelot, Story of the Champions of the Round Table, Stolen Treasure, and Book of Pirates, all with the orig...

  • The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood synopsis, comments

    The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

    Howard Pyle

    The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Howard Pyle In this edition of "The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood", Howard Pyle has provided possibly the best and most complete rende...

  • Works of Howard Pyle synopsis, comments

    Works of Howard Pyle

    Howard Pyle

    This collection was designed for optimal navigation on iPad and other electronic devices. This collection offers lower price, the convenience of a onetime download, and it reduce...

  • Complete Pirates Adventure Romance Ghost of Howard Pyle synopsis, comments

    Complete Pirates Adventure Romance Ghost of Howard Pyle

    Howard Pyle

    Pyle was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. A native of Wilmington, Delaware, he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy.  His...

  • The Book of Pirates synopsis, comments

    The Book of Pirates

    Howard Pyle

    Howard Pyle's The Book of Pirates is a classic adventure tale first published in 1921. Pirates, Buccaneers, Marooners, those cruel but picturesque sea wolves who once infested the ...

  • The Story of King Arthur and His Knights synopsis, comments

    The Story of King Arthur and His Knights

    Howard Pyle & John F. Plummer

    In these wonderfully illustrated tales, renowned storyteller Howard Pyle carries us back to the enchanting world of King Arthur and his Round Table. The book chronicles the adventu...

  • The Best Pirate Stories Ever Told synopsis, comments

    The Best Pirate Stories Ever Told

    Stephen Brennan

    Over the years, thousands of tales both true and fantastic have been told about the dastardly thievery of pirates, and their rumdrunk exploits and highseas violence never fail to d...

  • Twilight Land synopsis, comments

    Twilight Land

    Howard Pyle

    I found myself in Twilight Land.​How I ever got there I cannot tell, but there I was in Twilight Land.What is Twilight Land? It is a wonderful, wonderful place where no sun shines ...

  • The Works of Howard Pyle synopsis, comments

    The Works of Howard Pyle

    Howard Pyle

    1011The works of Howard Pyle with active table of contents. Works include:Book of PiratesMen of IronThe Merry Adventures of Robin HoodOtto of the Silver HandPepper & Salt or, S...

  • Men of Iron synopsis, comments

    Men of Iron

    Howard Pyle

    Men of Iron Howard Pyle Men of Iron is an 1891 novel by the American author Howard Pyle, who also illustrated it. It is juvenile coming of age work in which the author has the rea...

  • Otto of the Silver Hand synopsis, comments

    Otto of the Silver Hand

    Howard Pyle

    Otto of the Silver Hand Howard Pyle The book chronicles the life of Otto, the son of German warlord Baron Conrad. Otto's mother, Baroness Matilda, has died in premature labour...

  • The Complete Works of Howard Pyle synopsis, comments

    The Complete Works of Howard Pyle

    Howard Pyle & Delphi Classics

    The American illustrator and author Howard Pyle is best known for his celebrated children’s books. His magazine and book illustrations are regarded as among the finest of the turno...

  • Men of Iron synopsis, comments

    Men of Iron

    Howard Pyle

    The year 1400 opened with more than usual peacefulness in England. Only a few months before, Richard IIweak, wicked, and treacheroushad been dethroned, and Henry IV declared King i...

  • The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood synopsis, comments

    The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

    Howard Pyle

    The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, of Great Renown in Nottinghamshire is a novel by the American illustrator and writer Howard Pyle. Also illustrated in this edition (1912) by Wal...