Felix Octavius Carr Darley
American draftsman and illustrator, 1822–1888
During the late 1840s, he began a series of prints illustrating popular stories including some by Washington Irving. These were issued as prints, not book illustrations, in conjunction with the American Art Union; they were acquired by subscription by many middle-class households. During his lengthy career, his illustrations appeared in books by authors such as Charles Dickens, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Fennimore Cooper, Clement Clarke Moore, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Darley was also known as a bank note designer. In addition, his work appeared in the New York Mercury, a forerunner of the dime novel, itself a predecessor of pulp magazines.
For his 1856 commission to illustrate the complete works of James Fennimore Cooper, Darley's images were reproduced photographically onto steel, essentially eliminating the artistic license of the engraver.
According to his entry in the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame, "without (Darley's) influence...this profession...wouldn't exist in America."
Source: Society of Illustrators, New York
Person TypeIndividual
Terms
- artists
- male
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