For 175 years, Harper’s has been a cornerstone of American publishing. Founded in 1850 as Harper’s Monthly Magazine, and expanding with Harper’s Weekly and Harper’s Bazar, the Harper name shaped the nation’s literary and cultural life. Harper’s published works by leading authors and thinkers, but just as importantly, it became one of the great showcases for American illustration.
Illustration was at the heart of Harper’s. It brought stories to life, chronicled current events, and gave visual form to the nation’s aspirations and anxieties. In a time before photography dominated the press, illustration was both journalism and art — accessible to readers in their homes, yet created at the highest level of artistic achievement.
From Howard Pyle’s iconic Revolutionary War and pirate scenes to Elizabeth Shippen Green’s depictions of society and childhood, from Maxfield Parrish’s celebrated covers to Frank Schoonover’s dramatic fiction illustrations, Harper’s shaped how readers pictured America.
By focusing on original paintings, watercolors, and drawings from Harper’s, 175 Years of Harper's Magazine reveals the dialogue between art and print culture, celebrating the magazine as both a literary and visual institution. It highlights how illustration documented history, reinforced social ideals, fueled popular fiction, and created images that remain iconic today.
History Illustrated
Blurb about this theme here.
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
An Unwelcome Toast
1895, oil on canvas
24 1/2" x 36 1/4", signed lower right
Harper's Weekly, December 14, 1895
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
After the Massacre - Samuel Adams Demanding of Governor Hutchinson the Instant Withdrawal of British Troops
1901, oil on canvas
24" x 16", signed lower right
"Colonies and Nations: Part 6," by Woodrow Wilson, Harper's Magazine, August 1901
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
The Capture of Elizabeth, Frances Callaway and Jemima Boone
1884, oil on board
20" x 16", signed lower right
"The Kentucky Pioneers," by John Mason Brown, Harper's Monthly, June 1887
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
Dinner at Cornelius Dubois's
1879, watercolor and gouache on paper
9 1/4" x 15 1/2", signed and dated upper left
"Old Catskill," by Henry Brace, Harper's New Monthly, May 1880
Also reproduced as "After Dinner" in "Building the Nation," by Charles Carleton Coffin, Harper's, pg. 188
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
The First Visit of William Penn to America (A Conference with the Colonists)
1883, gouache on paper
17 11/16" x 25 9/16", signed lower left
Harper's Weekly, March 31, 1883
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
He Held His Hammer Poised for a Moment
1885, oil on board
16" x 22", signed lower right
"Squire Tripp's Old Arm Chair," by Howard Pyle, Harper's Weekly, December 12, 1885
Howard Pyle (1852-1911)
La Salle Christening the Country "Louisiana"
1905, oil on canvas
24" x 16 1/4", signed lower right
"The Great LaSalle," by Henry Loomis Nelson, Harper's New Monthly, February 1905
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
New York City Slave Auction
1894, oil on canvasboard
16" x 12 1/4", initialed lower right
"New York Slave Trade," by Thomas A. Janvier, Harper's Monthly, January 1895
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
Paul Revere Bringing News to Sullivan
1886, oil on board
17 1/2" x 11 1/2", initialed lower right
"The Gunpowder for Bunker Hill," by Ballard Smith, Harper's Monthly Magazine, June 1886
Adventure & Imagination
Blurb about this theme here.
Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)
The Silver Horde
1909, oil on canvas
36" x 24", signed lower right
The Silver Horde, by Rex Beach, Harper and Brothers, 1909
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
Again, My Captain
1895, oil on canvas
16" x 10 1/2", signed lower right
Harper's New Monthly, February 1895, pg. 35
Howard Pyle (1852-1911)
Dark, Smiling Salim with His Magic Pack
1908, oil on canvas
23 1/2" x 15 3/4", signed lower right
"The Minstrel," by Norman Duncan, Harper's Monthly, June 1908
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
Marooned
1887, oil on bord
16" x 23", signed lower right
"Buccaneers and Marooners of the Spanish Main," by Howard Pyle, Harper's New Monthly, August/September 1887
Howard Pyle (1852-1911)
She Was a Solid Mass of Flame
1907, mixed media on board
10 1/8" x 6 3/4", initialed lower left
"The Cruise of the Caribbee," by Thomas V. Briggs, Harper's New Monthly, December 1907
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
The Woman Turned Fiercely Upon the Chieftain
1887, oil on masonite
15 3/4" x 11", signed lower right
"The Southern Gateway of the Alleghanies," by Edmund Kirke, Harper's New Monthly, April 1887
Howard Pyle (1852-1911)
They Were Overtaken by Falmouth Himself (In Knighthood's Day)
1905, oil on canvas
24" x 16", signed lower left
"The Sestina," by James Branch Cabell, Harper's New Monthly, January 1906
Frank E. Schoonover (1877-1972)
Flamingo Feather
1923, oil on canvas
43" x 36", signed lower left
The Flamingo Feather, by Kirk Munroe, Harper & Brothers, New York, 1923, frontispiece
Women'a Roles, Domestic Life & Children
Blurb about this theme here.
Anna Whelan Betts (1873-1959)
Bedtime
1913, oil on canvas
25" x 17", signed lower right
"Old-Fashioned Children," by E.S. Martin, Harper's Monthly, January 1913, pg. 243
Elizabeth Shippen Green (1871-1954)
The Five Little Pigs
1905, watercolor and charcoal on board
27" x 16 1/2", signed lower right
"The Mistress of the House," by Elizabeth Shippen Green, Harper's Monthly Magazine, August 1905
Elizabeth Shippen Green (1871-1954)
Paper Doll Books #2
1906, watercolor and charcoal
23" x 14 1/2", signed lower left
"The Mind of a Child," by Edward S. Martin, Harper's Monthly, December 1906
Edward Penfield (1866-1925)
This Has Something To Do With It
1896, gouache on board
12" x 9", signed lower right
The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces, by John K. Bangs, Harper's Brothers, New York, 1896, pg. 79
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
Among the Daffodilies
1884, oil on canvas
17 1/2" x 11 1/2", signed lower right
"A May Day Idyl," Harper's Monthly, May 1884
Howard Pyle (1852-1911)
Diana Sherley
1903, oil on canvas
37" x 20", signed lower right
"The Ultimate Master," by James Branch Cabell, Harper's New Monthly, November 1908
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
Woman at the Polls in New Jersey in the Good Old Times
1880, gouache on paper on board
10 3/4" x 17", signed left center
Harper's New Monthly, November 13, 1880
Alice Barber Stephens (1858-1932)
Singing the Wind Song
1900, charcoal and watercolor
24 1/2" x 16", signed lower right
"The Free Kindergarten," by Hamilton W. Mable, Harper's Monthly Magazine, October 1905
Alice Barber Stephens (1858-1932)
Girl and Boy Holding Hands
1906, mixed media on board
19 1/2" x 14", signed lower right
"The Seven Ages of Women," by Clara E. Laughlin, Harper's Bazar, December 1906
Alice Barber Stephens (1858-1932)
This Lark Little Girl of Ten (Ella)
1906, mixed media on board
24 3/4" x 17 3/4", signed lower right
"The Seven Ages of Women," by Clara E. Laughlin, Harper's Bazar, December 1906
Albert Beck Wenzell (1864-1917)
At the Piano
1890, oil on canvas
26" x 20", signed lower right
Harper's Magazine, Christmas issue cover, 1890
Romance & Society
Blurb about this theme here.
Howard Chandler Christy (1873-1952)
Confrontation
1901, watercolor on paper
37 1/2" x 25", signed and dated lower left
"The Cleansing of the Lie," by Alfred Ollivant, Harper's Monthly, August 1901
Elizabeth Shippen Green (1871-1954)
Masquerade
1909, oil and charcoal on board
24" x 14 1/2"
Dorinda Dares, Harper's Monthly, July 1909
Henry Hutt (1875-1950)
Saturday Afternoon at a Country Club
1900, gouache on board
28" x 19", signed lower right
Harper's Weekly, September 9, 1900, pg. 841
Howard Pyle (1852-1911)
Beatrix and Esmond
1906, oil on canvas
31 1/2" x 21", signed lower right
Harper's Monthly, August 1906 frontispiece
Howard Pyle (1852-1911)
He Sang for Her as They Sat in the Gardens
1904, oil on board
18" x 14", signed lower left
"The Story of Adhelmar," by James Branch Cabell, Harper's Monthly Magazine, April 1904
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
The Quaker Lovers
1890, watercolor on board
9" x 5", signed lower right
"The Quaker Lady," by S. Weir Mitchell, Harper's New Monthly, November 1890
Howard Pyle (1852-1911)
The Ruby of Kishmoor
1907, oil on board
10" x 5 1/2", signed lower right
"The Ruby of Kishmoor," by Howard Pyle, Harper's Monthly, August 1907
Howard Pyle (1852-1911)
The Precious Minutes Flew Past But She Was Silent
1903, oil on canvas
30" x 20", signed lower right
"The Apple of Venus," by Marjorie Bowen, Harper's New Monthly, February 1909
Frank E. Schoonover (1877-1972)
The Little Wet Foot
1913, oil on canvas
34" x 24", signed lower right
"The Little Wet Foot," by William Gilmore Beymer, Harper's Magazine, May 1913
Walter Granville Smith (1870-1938)
Vanderbilt-Neilson Wedding Portrait
1903, gouache, ink and charcoal on board
22 1/2" x 15", signed lower left
Harper's Weekly, April 13, 1903 cover
Also used as an advertising poster for the Harper's Weekly, April 13, 1903 issue
Narrative Illustrations
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Howard Pyle (1852-1911)
Herr Vellmer
1911, oil on canvas
29 1/2" x 20", signed lower right
"Hunt's Fair Nihilist," by Howard Pyle, Harper's Magazine, June 1913
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
Equality - Female Pan Playing Flute While Death Lurks Behind
1895, pen and ink on paper
3 1/2" x 6 1/4"
Stops of Various Quills, by W.D. Howels, Harper and Brothers, 1895
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
Pan Playing Flute While Isis Looks On
1899, oil on board
17 1/2" x 7 1/2", signed and dated lower right
"The Body to the Soul," by Ellen H.M. Gates, Harper's New Monthly Magazine, August 1899, pg. 398
Howard Pyle (1852-1911)
Sorrow - In the Night
1903, oil on board
8" x 11 1/2"
"The Castle of Content," by James Branch Cabell, Harper's New Monthly, August 1903
Howard Pyle (1852-1911)
The Soul of Mervisaunt
1911, oil on canvas
24" x 16", signed lower right
"The Soul of Mervisaunt," by James Branch Cabell, Harper's Monthly, April 1911
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
Vision (Renaissance Banquet)
1895, pen and ink on paper
3 1/4" x 8 1/4"
Stops of Various Quills, by W.D. Howels, Harper and Brothers, 1895
Frank Schoonover (1877-1972)
Cardigan
1901, oil on board
12" x 16 1/2", signed lower right
"Cardigan," by Robert Chambers, Harper's Weekly, March 30, 1901
Published Illustrations
Blurb about this theme here.
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)
Harper's Bazar - Easter 1895
1885, vintage magazine
15" x 10 1/4"
Harper's Bazar, Easter 1895 cover
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)
The Declaration of Independence - Harper's Bazar
1895, vintage magazine
11" x 8 1/4"
Harper's Round Table, July 2, 1895 cover
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)
Cook with Large Pudding - Harper's Weekly cover
1895, vintage magazine cover
15 1/4" x 10 1/2"
Harper's Weekly, December 14, 1895 cover
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)
Bicycle Number - Harper's Bazar
1896, vintage magazine
14 1/2" x 10"
Harper's Weekly, April 11, 1896 cover
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)
Christmas Pudding - Harper's Bazar
1896, vintage magazine
15" x 10 1/4"
Harper's Weekly, December 19, 1896 cover
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)
Christmas Dinner for Two - Harper's Bazar
1897, vintage magazine
15 5/8" x 11"
Harper's Weekly, December 18, 1897 cover
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)
National Authority on Amateur Sport - Harper's Weekly
1897, vintage poster
15" x 10 1/4"
Harper's Weekly advertisement poster, 1897
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)
Permanent Cover Design - Harper's Round Table
1898, vintage magazine
9 1/4" x 7 1/2"
Harper's Round Table, October 1898 cover
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)
His Christmas Dinner - Harper's Weekly Illustration
1900, vintage magazine page
13 1/2" x 9 1/4"
Harper's Weekly, December 8, 1900 interior page
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)
Cover Design - Harper's Monthly Magazine
1901, vintage magazine
9 1/4" x 6"
Harper's Monthly Magazine, October 1901 cover
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)
Cinderella - Harper's Bazar Cover
1914, vintage magazine
13 1/2" x 9 3/8"
Harper's Bazar, March 1914 cover
