Collection: Howard Pyle

Howard Pyle (1853–1911) was an American illustrator, painter, and author, born in Wilmington, Delaware. He primarily created books for young people, which he both wrote and illustrated. Pyle spent the final year of his life in Florence, Italy, where he had traveled to study mural painting. In 1894, he began teaching illustration at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry, and after 1900, he established his own institution, the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art.

Pyle's work frequently featured medieval European settings, including his 1883 publication The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood and a four-volume set on King Arthur. He also illustrated historical and adventure stories for periodicals such as Harper's Magazine and St. Nicholas Magazine. Pyle illustrated pirates and is credited with creating the modern stereotype of pirate dress. He authored novels such as Otto of the Silver Hand (1888) and Men of Iron (1891).

Pyle exerted a lasting influence on numerous artists who studied under him, including Violet Oakley, Maxfield Parrish, Jessie Willcox Smith, and N. C. Wyeth. Scholar Henry C. Pitz later coined the term "Brandywine School" to describe the illustration artists and Wyeth family artists from the Brandywine region, many of whom were Pyle's students.