© John Cuneo. Photograph and digital image © Delaware Art Museum. Not for reproduction or publi…

Howard Pyle at his Drawing Table

Date2013

Artist John Cuneo (American illustrator, born 1957)

MediumInk, watercolor, and graphite on paper

Dimensionscomposition: 5 × 3 1/2 in. (12.7 × 8.9 cm)
sheet: 7 × 5 in. (17.8 × 12.7 cm)

Credit LineGift of the artist, 2013

Object number2013-2

On View

Not on view

ClassificationsDRAWING

Label TextJohn Cuneo's illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, and Sports Illustrated, among other major magazines. Known for the humor and psychological frankness of his drawings, Cuneo showed his work in an exhibition at the Delaware Art Museum in 2013. While preparing for the show, he created this drawing of illustrator Howard Pyle (1853-1911), whose works comprised the founding collection of the Museum in 1912.

Cuneo’s image captures Pyle’s face and presence from archival photographs. Standing at his drawing table, the illustrator turns to gaze at us without interrupting his sketch. The large head intensifies our awareness of his intellect and vision; his collar and tie remind us of an era when the artist’s studio was a place of dignified formality. Asked to comment on the enduring legacy of Pyle’s works for contemporary illustrators, Cuneo noted that “It’s hardly a straight line from Howard Pyle to here, but I like to think even the Great Man himself would concede that straight lines are overrated.”