Felix Octavius Carr Darley
Felix Octavius Carr Darley
1822 - 1888
American illustrator and printmaker. After being exposed early to the Neo-classical style of John Flaxman, Darley began his career as an illustrator in Philadelphia in 1842. Following a sketching trip west of the Mississippi during the summer of that year, he produced outline drawings that were adapted into lithographs appearing in Scenes in Indian Life (1843). His early book illustrations were published in periodicals such as Democratic Review and Godey’s Magazine. Working in line drawing, lithography and wood- and steel-engraving, his first major success was his series of illustrations for John Frost’s Pictorial History of the United States (1844).
After moving to New York in 1848, Darley dominated the field of American illustration with his illustrations of Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper’s tales and novels. He produced about 500 illustrations for Cooper’s novels and a similar number for Benson J. Lossing’s Our Country (1875–7). He also illustrated the work of Charles Dickens, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allen Poe and William Shakespeare. His illustrations appeared in every American periodical of importance. Individual lithographs of scenes from Irving’s Rip Van Winkle, published by the American Art Union, became highly sought after, remaining memorable images to this day.
Darley’s flowing, minimally shaded drawings in the Neo-classical style have something of a romantic spirit, seeking to capture the essence of the scenes portrayed. He worked largely in pen alone, but sometimes also used sepia washes over light pencil outlines. His work exerted a strong influence on his generation of American illustrators. [David M. Sokol. "Darley, Felix Octavius Carr." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press, accessed September 8, 2014, http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T021435.]
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French, 1864 - 1901
