Rago and Toomey & Co. will offer over 100 works in an auction dedicated to “Edward Penfield: American Illustrator” on May 18, with all material sourced directly from the artist’s estate.
Like Alphonse Mucha and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who helped to define the popular Art Nouveau style of graphic art in Europe at the end of the 19th century, Edward Penfield is largely credited with setting the tone for the Golden Age of American poster art during the same period.
The sale includes compositions dating to various parts of Penfield’s esteemed career — from his early days at Harper & Brothers, to his tenure as art director, to his later freelance work for other publishers and his travels in Holland and Spain.
Penfield created freelance illustrations for leading publications, such as The Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s, Life, Scribner’s, Literary Digest, The Country Gentleman, and Metropolitan Magazine.
Showcasing Penfield’s wide array of favorite themes, the mediums available include: gouache, watercolor and oil paintings; ink, graphite, and charcoal illustrations; mixed media and collages; lithographs and posters; plus sketches, bound drawings and other ephemera.
Penfield passed away in 1925 at age 58. Despite a premature end to his career, Penfield’s unparalleled artistic approach and extraordinary contribution to American illustration came to define the Golden Age of American poster art and his visual style remains as timeless and collectible today as it was over 100 years ago.
The full selection of works featured in “Edward Penfield: American Illustrator” will be on view from May 11 to 18, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Saturday, at Rago, 333. N. Main St., Lambertville, N.J. The live auction will take place at Rago Thursday, May 18, beginning at 2 p.m., and accommodates advanced bids, telephone bidding, and live online bidding. For information, reach out to press@ragoarts.com.
The auction of “Edward Penfield: American Illustrator” will be immediately preceded by Rago’s American & European Art auction, to begin at 10 a.m. May 18.
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