Heritage Auctions Nov. 16 2015

Maxfield Parrish’s classic Jason and His Teacher, published as a 1909 frontspiece by Collier's magazine, sold for more than $1 million Nov. 16 in Heritage Auctions’ fall American Fine Art Auction in New York.

Christie’s 19 November 2014

MAXFIELD PARRISH (1870-1966)

LAND OF MAKE-BELIEVE

$3,000,000 - $5,000,000 

The top lot of the auction is Maxfield Parrish’s Land of Make-Believe. This work exemplifies Parrish’s power to create a portal into an imaginary world, infuse his subjects with mystery and delight, and create compositions of tremendous visual impact and power. Parrish’s ability to blend classic art schools such as the Pre-Raphaelite sentiment and Old Master technique is nowhere more evident than in Land of Make-Believe.

SOTHEBY’S DEC 4 2013

MAXFIELD PARRISH 1870 - 1966

THE KNAVE OF HEARTS: THE SIX LITTLE INGREDIENTS

Estimate 250,000 — 350,000

Lot Sold 1,925,000

MAXFIELD PARRISH 1870 - 1966

THE KNAVE OF HEARTS: LIST OF CHARACTERS

Estimate 200,000 — 300,000

Lot Sold 437,000

Christie’s 28 November 2012

A highlight among the illustrations in the sale is Maxfield Parrish’s The Manager Draws the Curtain, the last of twenty-five paintings the artist made for Louise Saunder’s 1925 book, The Knave of Hearts (pictured left; estimate: $400,000-600,000). Parrish posed for the whimsical work and acts as the master of ceremonies, dressed as a thespian and welcoming the viewer into the story by dramatically drawing back the stage curtain. Influenced by the Old Master painters, Parrish often painted with glazes, a meticulous process that resulted in magnificent luminosity and intensity of color. After its completion, The Manager Draws the Curtain was gifted to Louise Saunders by Parrish and has remained in the author’s family since the late 1920s.

Christie’s May 18, 2011

Originally commissioned by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney for her Fifth Avenue mansion, Parrish’s 18-foot wide North Wall Panel is among the largest American paintings ever offered at Christie’s New York. This fanciful panorama employs a myriad of brilliant hues and patterns to create a captivating and complex multi-figural scene that blends pre-Raphaelite sentiment, Old Master technique and a playful sense of wonder, as though offering a view into an imaginary world. As was his practice, Parrish employed family and friends to serve as models for his works, and the North Wall Panel includes many recognizable faces, including his own and that of his wife’s. In total, Parrish produced four murals for Ms. Whitney, who installed them in her sculpture studio in Old Westbury, Long Island. North Wall Panel is offered from the personal collection of Ms. Whitney’s granddaughter, Pamela LeBoutillier of Old Westbury.