The Blacksmith Chooses Ye Raven and Runs Away With It, for "The Wonder Clock"

Howard Pyle

1887 · Pen and black ink · Drawings and Prints

Pyle is considered the father of American illustration. Born in Wilmington, Delaware, he became interested in art and writing as a boy, studied in Philadelphia and then New York, at the Art Students League. In 1878, a drawing accepted by Harper's Weekly helped to launch his career and the artist returned to Delaware in 1880. Over the next three decades Pyle wrote and illustrated a series of now iconic works and became an influential teacher. Aware of contemporary European innovations, he skillfully adapted his style to suit a range of subjects. This design first appeared in Harper's "Young People," May 17, 1886 titled "He Snatched it and Ran." Here, the artist redrew it for "The Wonder Clock," a book published by Harper Brothers in 1888. The related image appears in story XXIV on page 311.

Artist

Howard Pyle

Date

1887

Medium

Pen and black ink

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1926; transfered to the Print Department, 1967