Studio: international art (90.1925)

EDWARD PENFIELD, 1866-1925

which included Cheret, Steinlen, Grasset
and Toulouse-Lautrec, and somewhat in-
fluenced by these artists, Penfield entered
the poster field with enthusiasm, and
found his great opportunity with the
publishing firm of Harper & Brothers.
His chance came in the form of an
emergency commission, placed one evening
for completion by the following morning,
and so it happened that the first poster
of Penfield's fine Harper's series saw the
light of day. From that beginning further
designs quickly followed, each one so good
and distinguished that the reputation of
the artist became firmly established. Over
a period of years, which may be termed
the golden age of posters in America, the
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"A STREET CAR, SAN FRANCISCO." ADVER-
TISEMENT DESIGN BY EDWARD PENFIELD

(Copyright, Hart, Schaffner and Marx
From the collection of H. L. Sparks, Esq.)

Harper's bills continued to be issued,
until Penfield's contributions numbered
over sixty. Each fresh design was eagerly
looked for, and many of them have since
become the classics of commercial art. a
For ten years Penfield acted as art
editor. During that period, and through-
out the rest of his life, he was busily en-
gaged on designs that inevitably helped
forward the upward trend of applied art
in America. Posters concerned with many
branches of industry followed one another
in quick succession, some of the most
notable being executed for the clothing
firm of Hart, Schaffner & Marx, and every
kind of printed advertisement took new
and delightful shape in the hands of this