Howard Pyle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Howard Pyle
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| Born | March 5, 1853 |
| Died | November 9, 1911 (aged 58) |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Illustration, Writing for children |
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Notable work
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The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Otto of the Silver Hand Men of Iron |
| Spouse(s) | Anne Poole |
Howard Pyle (born March 5, 1853 – died November 9, 1911) was a famous American illustrator and author. He was best known for writing and illustrating books for young people.
Pyle was born in Wilmington, Delaware. He spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. He taught illustration at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry (now Drexel University) starting in 1894. After 1900, he started his own art school called the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art.
Many artists who became famous later studied with Pyle. These included N. C. Wyeth, Frank Schoonover, and Thornton Oakley. His teaching style had a lasting impact on them.
His classic book, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, was published in 1883 and is still popular today. Many of his other books are set in medieval Europe, like his four-volume series about King Arthur. Pyle is also well-known for his drawings of pirates. He is even credited with creating the modern look of how pirates are often shown.
He published his first novel, Otto of the Silver Hand, in 1888. He also drew pictures for magazines like Harper's Magazine and St. Nicholas Magazine. His novel Men of Iron was made into a movie called The Black Shield of Falworth in 1954.
In 1910, Pyle traveled to Florence, Italy, to study how to paint large murals. He sadly died there in 1911 from a sudden kidney infection when he was 58 years old.
Contents
Howard Pyle's Life Story
Howard Pyle was born in Wilmington, Delaware. His parents were William Pyle and Margaret Churchman Painter. From a very young age, he loved to draw and write. His parents, especially his mother, encouraged him to study art.
He studied art for three years in Philadelphia. This was most of his art training. He also took a few lessons at the Art Students League of New York.
In 1876, Pyle visited Chincoteague, Virginia. He was inspired by the island and wrote an article about it, adding his own illustrations. He sent it to Scribner's Monthly magazine. One of the magazine's owners, Roswell Smith, told him to move to New York to become a professional illustrator.
Pyle found it hard at first in New York. He didn't have much experience turning his ideas into pictures for magazines. But other artists like Edwin Austin Abbey and A. B. Frost helped him.
He finally had a big drawing published in Harper's Weekly in March 1878. He was paid $75, which was much more than he expected! He became more and more successful. By 1880, he was a well-known artist when he moved back to Wilmington.
Pyle kept drawing for magazines. He also worked on several books, especially about American history. He started writing and illustrating his own stories with The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood in 1883. This book became famous around the world. Over the next few decades, he published many more illustrated books for children. Many of them are still printed today.
Pyle married Anne Poole, a singer, in 1881. They had seven children together. In 1889, he and his wife went to Jamaica. They left their children with relatives. While they were away, their son Sellers sadly passed away. This loss likely inspired his children's book The Garden Behind the Moon. This book is about death and is dedicated "To the little Boy in the Moon Garden This Book is dedicated by His Father."
From 1894 to 1900, Pyle taught art at the Drexel Institute. In 1900, he opened his own school in Wilmington. There, he taught a small group of students in great detail. In 1903, Pyle painted his first large wall paintings, called murals, for the Delaware Art Museum.
He started painting murals more seriously in 1906. He painted The Battle of Nashville in the state capitol building of Minnesota. He also painted two other murals for courthouses in New Jersey.
Pyle created his own ideas for how pirates should look. There were not many real examples of pirate clothes or drawings from that time. He created a colorful style that included parts of Gypsy clothing. His work influenced how movie pirates looked, from Errol Flynn to Johnny Depp. Even though his pirate outfits looked cool, they were not very practical for real sailors!
In 1910, Pyle and his family went to Italy. He planned to study the works of the old masters, who were famous painters from the past. He was not feeling well and felt sad and tired. After one year in Italy, he got a kidney infection and died in Florence.
Howard Pyle's Famous Books
Howard Pyle wrote and illustrated many books. He also created countless drawings for Harper's Weekly and other magazines.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Pyle brought together many old Robin Hood stories and songs in this book. He made them gentler to be suitable for children. For example, in an old song, Robin kills fourteen foresters. Pyle changed it so Robin only defends himself against one forester.
Pyle also changed stories where Robin stole everything from travelers. In his book, the victim keeps a third of their goods, and another third goes to help the poor.
He didn't worry too much about being perfectly historically accurate. But he did rename the queen in one story to Eleanor of Aquitaine. This made her fit with King Richard the Lion-Hearted, with whom Robin eventually makes peace.
Many of the Robin Hood tales were from the late Middle Ages. Pyle's great achievement was putting them together into one smooth story. He also drew all the pictures for it. He even developed characters who were only mentioned briefly in older songs, like David of Doncaster.
Men of Iron
Men of Iron is a novel from 1891. It is about a young squire named Myles Falworth. He dreams of becoming a knight to clear his family's name. His father was wrongly accused of trying to kill King Henry IV.
The adventure story follows Myles as he trains hard to become a knight. It ends with him becoming a knight and challenging the evil Lord Brookhurst Alban to a fight to prove his innocence.
This novel was made into a movie in 1954 called The Black Shield of Falworth. It starred Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh.
Other Important Works
- Otto of the Silver Hand: This book is about the son of a robber baron during the medieval period.
- Rejected of Men: A Story of To-day (1903): This book tells the story of Jesus as if it happened in early 1900s America.
- The Wonder Clock (1887): This is a collection of twenty-four tales, one for each hour of the day. Each story starts with a fun poem about what happens in a home at that hour. His sister Katharine Pyle wrote the poems. Pyle created the tales based on old European folktales.
- Pepper and Salt, or Seasoning for Young Folk: This book contains traditional tales for younger readers, which he also illustrated.
- After he died, a publisher gathered many of his pirate stories and drawings. They were published as Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates in 1921.
See also
In Spanish: Howard Pyle para niños
