Illustration for The Swan Maiden; The Swan carries the Prince away
Date1885
Artist
Howard Pyle
(American illustrator, 1853–1911)
Illustration Citation"The Swan Maiden," by Howard Pyle, in Harper's Young People, October 13, 1885
MediumInk on illustration board
Dimensionssheet: 11 7/8 × 9 9/16 in. (30.2 × 24.3 cm)
Credit LineGift of Willard S. Morse, 1920
Object number1920-27
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextHoward Pyle sometimes adapted established folktales to his personal style of storytelling. Here he depicts a prince bewitched by a girl whose magical powers allow her to turn into a swan.
Founded in 1879, Harper's Young People described itself as a "weekly journal of amusement and instruction" for older children. It never achieved the success of its main rivals, St. Nicholas and Youth's Companion. In 1897, it changed its name to Harper's Round Table. The Arthurian allusion reflected its new target audience teenage boys.
