The Persian Columbus / The Caliph of Bagdad
Date1928
Artist
John Bennett
(American author and illustrator, 1865–1956)
Illustration Citation"The Persian Columbus," by John Bennett, in The Pigtail of Ah Lee Ben Loo with Seventeen Other Laughable Tales and 200 Comical Silhouettes (New York and London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1928)
MediumCut paper glued to illustration board
Dimensionssheet: 14 1/4 × 22 11/16 in. (36.2 × 57.6 cm)
Credit LineAcquisition Fund, 2008
Object number2008-1.1
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextWhen John Bennett suffered several years of fragile health during his childhood in Ohio, he mastered the art of cutting silhouettes. A high school dropout, he worked as a freelance artist until he could afford to move to New York and study at the Art Students League. With his publication of Mr. Skylark in 1898, still considered one of the best children's books of the nineteenth century, Bennett's reputation was assured. During his affiliation with St. Nicholas, he was noted as a leading silhouette artist. 
