Edward Penfield: A Chronology

Edward Penfield (1866-1925)

2 Jun 1866: Born in Brooklyn, New York, a descendant of Samuel Penfield (1651-1711) of Lynn, Masachusetts. Edward is the third son out of five children, to merchant Josiah B. Penfield (1829-1904) of Rye, New York and Ellen Locke Moore (1831-1917), a native of England. Grew up in Brooklyn and attended schools there.
1889: Paris Exhibition. Flourishing of Art Nouveau, Tiffany, etc.
1889: The Century commissions Louis Rhead and Harper’s commissions Eugene Grasset for holiday poster designs. From 1889 to 1893 their designs for Harper’s Bazar, Harper’s Monthly, St. Nicholas and The Century became quite popular, not to mention increased sales for each of the magazines.
1889-1895: Student at the Art Students’ League in Manhattan, studying under George de Forest Brush. He also studies in Europe, “chiefly in England and Holland,” according to Who Was Who.
Nov 1890: Grolier Exhibition. First exhibit of European poster art in America, held by the Grolier Club of New York.
c.1890/92: Penfield travels to Paris. Contact with de Forest Brush while there.
c.1891: The 24 year old Penfield returns from Paris to New York to work as a staff artist and art editor at Harper and Brothers.
1893: Penfield rises to the position of Director of the Harper Brothers art department (variously described as Art Director or Art Editor — which included work for Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Harper’s Weekly, and Harper’s Bazar). Penfield serves in that capacity until 1901.
Jan 1893: The Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition begins.
Mar 1893: First poster for Harper’s, designed overnight (Penfield made almost every monthly Harper’s poster from 1893 to 1899).
23 Oct 1894: Penfield’s posters are shown in the first International Artistic Periodical Poster Exhibition, at the Westminster Aquarium, London.
14-16 Feb 1895: Exhibits at the Union League Club show, New York.
2 Oct - 30 Nov 1895: Exhibits posters at the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, Boston.
1895: Exhibits posters in Samuel Bing’s Salon de l’Art Nouveau, Paris.
Mar 1896: Exhibits posters at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia.
Mar 1896: Penfield’s Harper’s posters are shown in the second International Artistic Periodical Poster Exhibition, at the Westminster Aquarium, London.
1896: Percival Pollard’s Posters in Miniature published by R.H. Russell. Penfield writes the introduction.
1896: The Bicycles, and Three Other Farces, by John Kendrick Bangs, is published by Harper and Brothers. Illustrated by Penfield.
Nov 1896: Exhibits posters in the Exposition d’affiches artistiques, Françaises et étrangères modernes et rétrospectives. Reims, France.
27 Apr 1897: Married Jennie Judd Walker (1868-1950), daughter of Major Charles Ashbel Walker, a Civil War veteran and prominent railroad executive.
1897: The Penfields travel to England and Europe for their honeymoon, accompanied by Mjr Walker. Edward and Jennie lived with the Walkers in the Bronx, and later in a large house Mjr Walker built in Pelham Manor, New York. Edward Penfield made a small studio in an upper floor of the house.
27 Feb 1898: Son Walker Penfield is born in New York City.
1899: John Kendrick Bangs’ Peeps at People and The Dreamers: A Club are published by Harper & Brothers. Both illustrated by Penfield.
1900: Paris Exposition Universelle. Samuel Bing had an entire pavillion for Art Nouveau designers.
1900: Country Carts is published by R.H. Russell & Son. Illustrated by Penfield.
Feb 1901: Ends his tenure at Harper’s to pursue his career as a freelance illustrator and painter.
1901: Member, Society of Illustrators, New York (established in 1901).
Jul 1901: Writes and illustrates “The Ancestry of the Coach,” article in Outing magazine.
1901: Paints murals for the breakfast room in Randolph Hall, Harvard University.
1901: The Big Book of Horses and Goats. R.H. Russell & Son. Illustrated by Penfield.
1902: Travels and sketches in Europe and Volendam artist colony, Volendam, Holland. Works derived from these sketches were later published as a series of articles in Scribner’s.
3 Mar 1904: Penfield’s father dies.
1904: Exhibits works at the St Louis World’s Fair.
27 Jan 1905: Son Oliver Penfield is born, dies at five years old in 1910.
1905: Member, Salmagundi Club, New York City.
Dec 1906: Shares a studio with Henry Reuterdahl, on West 23rd Street in New York City, Manhattan retail district.
1907.: Holland Sketches is published by C. Scribner’s Sons.
1908-1923: Freelance work for Beck Engraving Co., of New York and Philadelphia.
1911: Spanish Sketches is published by C. Scribner’s Sons.
1915-1916: Teaches commercial draughtsmanship, and posters and lettering, Art Students’ League, New York.
11 May 1916: Exhibits works at the Library of Congress.
1920: Member, Guild of Free Lance Artists, New York City.
1920-1921: Teaches a popular course on design with Frederic W. Goudy, Art Students’ League, New York.
2-31 Mar 1921: Exhibits works at the Galleries of the National Arts Club in New York.
1921: Organizes an exhibition of advertising artwork for Hart, Schaffner & Marx.
1921-1923: President, Society of Illustrators, New York.
1924: Suffers back injuries from a fall.
8 Feb 1925: Dies at Dr Solcum’s sanitarium in Beacon, New York, of complications resulting from his fall.
1926: Society of Illustrators honors Penfield with a retrospective exhibition in New York.