Delaware Today magazine 302 Culture: Howard Pyle: American Master Rediscovered at the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington

Published October 7, 2011 at 06:15 PM

“We Started to Run Back to the Raft for Our Lives,” a 1902 oil painting by Howard Pyle, will be part of a retrospective exhibition at the Delaware Art Museum.

Pyle it On

The Delaware Art Museum isn’t quite 100 years old yet (that comes next year), but the reason for its being happened a century ago: the unexpected death of famed illustrator Howard Pyle on Nov. 9, 1911. The occasion caused a group of his students and others to form the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, the germ of the current museum, to show and preserve his works. To commemorate the event, the museum has assembled a retrospective exhibition, “Howard Pyle: American Master Rediscovered,” which will run Nov. 12-March 4. “Pyle was an imaginative Delaware artist and illustrator whose captivating paintings of pirates, medieval knights and historical scenes continue to inspire modern American culture,” says executive director Danielle Rice. In addition to “American Master,” look for fun parties, family events and interesting lectures to come. (571-9590, delart.org) —Mark Nardone