A combination of technological advances and a vast reservoir of native talent led to a golden age in American illustration during the period between the Gilded Age and the dawn of World War II. Popular magazines such as Century, Scribner's, Puck, and Life launched the careers of many aspiring illustrators, including Edwin Austin Abbey, Howard Pyle, Maxfield Parrish, Frederic Remington, Charles Dana Gibson, Rockwell Kent, and many others.
This collection features more than 230 reproductions of the finest pen-and-ink drawings by more than 100 artists during the heyday of the illustrated magazine, from 1881 to 1938. In addition to images from popular magazines, the survey features illustrations from newspapers and books that recapture a broad range of expressions of artistic imagination and experimentation. The compilation includes an informative Introduction by designer and art historian Fridolf Johnson, which traces the history and development of pen-and-ink illustration and chronicles America's richly varied illustrative tradition and artistic heritage.