Issued as a color reproduction by The House of Art in 1924.

Ruth “Kitty” Owen, the granddaughter of Williams Jennings Bryan, also posed for Daybreak (1922, reclining figure), Morning (1922), and The Canyon (1924).

Issued as a color reproduction by House of Art in December 1926 or early 1927.

Jean also modeled for Mary, Mary Quite Contrary (1921), Jack and the Beanstalk (1923), Evening (1921 or 1944), Daybreak (1922, standing girl), Knave of Hearts (1922, Prince), Dreaming (1928), and Ecstasy (1929).

Two young women recline on a rocky hilltop. Behind them stands a grand old oak tree. Distant mountains adorn the background.

Issued in December 1926 or early 1927 as a color art reproduction by The House of Art.

Parrish finished the painting in March of 1928 calling it October. It was issued as a color reproduction in late fall by The House of Art. This was the last painting Maxfield Parrish did for The House of Art.

After the print was published, Parrish removed the person reclining on the rock along with a lot of the right side of the picture. He intended to add a second tree to “stengthen the composition.” The repainting was still unfinished when he died.

Parrish called this picture The Knave. It is also known as The Prince. Illustration for The Knave of Hearts published by Scribner’s Sons in 1925; color reproduction by The House of Art.

Cover for Life, April 6, 1922; the altered version shown here published by House of Art, 1924.

Parrish aptly named this picture The Canyon.  It is also known as Easter. Original version published as a cover for Life, March 29, 1923; the altered version shown here published by House of Art, 1924.

Issued as a color reproduction by House of Art, 1923.

Parrish made extensive use of photography in his work. However, it appears he only executed two painted photographs: Lute Players, a derivative of Interlude is one of them. The original project involved painting a large mural for a vertically-oriented entrance of the Eastman Theater in Rochester, New York. Parrish named this mural Interlude.

The only problem with a mural, is that it’s hard to make a print of it: it being attached to a wall and all. A painted photograph proved a viable solution. House of Art produced the picture in two formats: vertical under the name Interlude, and horizontal bearing the name Lute Players.

Two facts support the assertion that Parrish never painted an original oil of Lute Players and that the painted photograph is a derivative of the mural Parrish named Interlude:

1. Coy Ludwig, renown for his work cataloging Parrish’s work, assigned the same catalog number (L.680) to Interlude, the original mural, and Lute Players, the painted photograph.
2. When the Julia Auction House of Maine auctioned the painted photo of Interlude/Lute Players in November 2004, they identified it as a photo that had been painted over by Parrish for the purpose of making prints using information written on Parrish’s distinctive stationery.

In case you were wondering, the other painted photograph executed by Parrish is the picture of Villa Caprarola.

Parrish made extensive use of photography in his work. However, it appears he only executed two painted photographs: a derivative of Interlude, which appears here, is one of them. The original project involved painting a large mural for a vertically-oriented entrance of the Eastman Theater in Rochester, New York. Parrish named this mural Interlude.

The only problem with a mural, is that it’s hard to make a print of it: it being attached to a wall and all. A painted photograph proved a viable solution. House of Art produced the picture in two formats: vertical under the name Interlude, and horizontal bearing the name Lute Players.

Two facts support the assertion that Parrish never painted an original oil of Lute Players and that the painted photograph is a derivative of the mural Parrish named Interlude:

1. Coy Ludwig, renown for his work cataloging Parrish’s work, assigned the same catalog number (L.680) to Interlude, the original mural, and Lute Players, the painted photograph.
2. When the Julia Auction House of Maine auctioned the painted photo of Interlude/Lute Players in November 2004, they identified it as a photo that had been painted over by Parrish for the purpose of making prints using information written on Parrish’s distinctive stationery.

In case you were wondering, the other painted photograph executed by Parrish is the picture of Villa Caprarola.