Howard Pyle
By
Perry Artese
Just a few miles from my home in Bethel Township, PA, there’s a road I’m certain many of you have
traveled on or by, Pyle Road. Being a great fan of the artist Howard Pyle, I wanted to do some research on Pyle and the beginning of the Brandywine School of Art. Who knew it a began right here in our town! This article, written at the behest of Claude Bernardin, Top 100 Brandywine School Artist, will help us connect the dots of the School through the work of Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, his children, grandchildren, the McCoy’s, Hurds, Kuerners, et. al.
Howard Pyle was a famous 19th and 20th Century American Illustrator, a national celebrity, and a teacher of remarkable illustrators of his day. As I learned about his work, I wanted to explore Pyle’s motivations and the genesis of the Brandywine School of Art.
Along Pyle Road is a look into the people and efforts that led to wonderful works of fine art illustrations, publishing, books, magazines, posters, stamps, and ultimately the Wyeth Family of artists. Andrew Wyeth who died in 2009 is recognized as a principle realist and the 20th Centuries’ most loved American painter. Andrew Wyeth’s most famous painting is, of course, Christina’s World. The robust Brandywine School is carried on by Jamie Wyeth, (of Chadds Ford) and hundreds of local artists who find inspiration in our beautiful local landscape.
Recognizable Local Names
The names Painter, Pyle and Churchman are quite recognizable when you travel around Bethel, PA, Concord Township and Wilmington, DE. The Pyle family name is traceable back to John Pyle, 1594, Bishops Canning, Wiltshire England. Genealogy and tax record searches find that William Painter b. 1785 (Painters Crossing) built his home in nearby Chadds Ford Township in 1808. William Painter married Phoebe Churchman and were active in the Friends Meeting. Their child, Margarete (Painter) Pyle, was Howard Pyle’s Mother. Margarete was a major family force, insisting on literature, art and music in the home. The Pyle farm site up the road on Naaman’s Creek is the homestead of the early Pyle family. Side note, there is a Pyle headstone at the Siloam Church at Booth’s Corner that I will investigate soon.
Wilmington
The Pyle family of this article was Wilmington born. Howard’s father was a Tanner, a leather worker. Wilmington, during Pyle’s youth, was the hub of the early 19th and 20th century industrial boom kicked off by Éleuthère Irénée du Pont and his gunpowder mill. Early on Howard traveled to Philadelphia for his initial instruction, eventually heading to New York and the Arts League. In New York he found some initial success with publishing and learned that arts and mentoring went hand in hand. It was Fredrick Edwin Church, a rising Landscape artist, that served as Pyle’s compass. It was New York where the eager illustrator began his brilliant career and the idea of the Brandywine School of Art was composed.
In Part Two we will look at Howard’s Illustration success and his teaching at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry in Philadelphia.
Philly Music & Arts Notes 