Howard Pyle: Life in New York

"Marooned" by Howard Pyle

"The first thing for Howard Pyle to look for in New York was a place to live. After considerable searching he finally found on Forty-eighth Street a vacant room in a boarding house which was managed by two middle-aged ladies, the Misses Marshall. The odd thing about it was that these two women were former neighbors of his mother's. They immediately took a fancy to the young man and took good care of him.

He worked regularly either at short stories and fables or at the illustrations to go with them, and for a time he had little difficulty in getting them accepted. In spite of the certainty, however, with which Mr. Smith had told him that 'Scribner's' would find plenty of work for Howard to do, it was not long before very little was forthcoming from that magazine. Still it was probably in the end a very lucky occurrence, for it threw him on his own initiative and made him fight his own battles.  

He took advantage of all the social opportunities which fell his way. He made himself acquainted not only at the boarding house, but also at the publishing offices, and soon had a circle of friends whom he had met in one place or the other. During the early part of his years in New York he wrote letters daily to his mother, which gave her full accounts of his activities.

On November 18, 1876, he wrote:

'I have not met anyone as young in years or letters as I am who has succeeded better or even as well as I have. I may make many failures at first and probably will, but it's in me and shall come out. I went down to the Photoengraving Company yesterday and received many valuable hints in regard to pen drawing. I have commenced a picture which I am going to submit to 'St. Nicholas' if it turns out as I hope. It is Queen Mab. She is flying through a gray evening sky on great dragonfly wings. In one corner is a flickering new moon, while the top of her wand forms a brilliant star. This is my intention if I can only carry it out. One could do a great deal if it weren't for that one word - 'only.'

On November 25, 1876, he wrote:

'Mr. Gilder had a long talk with me and he advised me to take a course of life study at the Artists' League, giving me a letter of introduction to a young Mr. Church who has his studio on Thirteenth Street. He also advised me to join the League, as there is a sketch class there where each student poses in turn for the benefit of others. Since two persons' advice is better than one, I shall most probably take advantage of Messrs. Gilder's and Church's, and join the League, albeit it's not an inexpensive operation. One cannot improve without study from models and nature, as all the good artists here do; and making pictures means making bread and butter to me for a while.'

On December 5, 1876, he wrote:

'At four o'clock I went down to the Sketch Club, taking my picture of 'Despair' along. It was a complete success. Afterward in the life class the students were very much interested and pleased with it. This praise has commenced to set me thinking. Would it be possible that I might make a success in Art? If I concluded to devote myself to that, there wouldn't be so much present money making in it, but opulence in future, should I succeed. If I begin to take up with that vocation, I should have to have the studio. Indeed, I feel the need of it more and more. All the artists who illustrate from magazines here work from models, and in that lies their superiority over other artists in other cities, but I have no place to study from models. Then, in case I turn my attention to art proper, I shall have to resume my painting studies from nature in the day class at the Art League. Some artists here to work day and night, and make a living by illustrating beside. So why shouldn't I do the same? I shall think seriously of it in the future.'

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Howard Pyle, A Chronicle" by Charles D. Abbott.)