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The End

DateMarch 25, 1903

Illustration Citation

MediumInk and graphite on Bristol board

Dimensionssheet: 12 1/2 × 7 11/16 in. (31.8 × 19.5 cm)

Credit LineSamuel and Mary R. Bancroft Memorial, 1935

Object number1935-334

On View

Not on view

Label TextThe Delaware Art Museum is honored to be the central repository for material pertaining to Howard Pyle and his students, in addition to the art and manuscript collection of Pre-Raphaelite collector Samuel Bancroft, Jr. A wealthy Wilmington industrialist and landowner, Bancroft owned and rented the Broom Street Studio to artists Herman A. Wall, Arthur E. Becher and William J. Aylward, all students of Howard Pyle. The 1607 studio was originally a stable at the rear of 1608 Rodney Street, and connected with 1609 Broom Street, where Pyle worked.

During 1903, students of Pyle gathered for a weekly pen and ink class in which they took turns assigning a subject for everyone to sketch. Henry Peck, N.C. Wyeth and Frank E. Schoonover were among the participating students. At Pyle's suggestion, Wall, Becher and Aylward invited Bancroft to join them for the first pen and ink class to be hosted at their Broom Street Studio. On the evening of March 25, 1903, the members of the class created sketches of their personal interpretation of "The End." They later presented these sketches to Bancroft. The three artists acquired a piece of book cloth from the Bancroft Mill, which they used to fashion a portfolio to house the sketches.