This lecture is given by Maureen Hyde, artist and former FAA faculty member, who discusses light as a member of visual storytellers’ toolkits by analyzing a few works by Rembrandt as well as guiding us through works by three American illustrators with a more classical storytelling approach: Howard Pyle, Frederic Remington and N.C. Wyeth.

Howard Pyle (1853-1911) is often considered to be the grandfather of American Illustration and is well known for his pirate, nautical, and American Revolutionary War illustrations. Frederic Remington (1861-1909) can be distinguished by his masterful representations of the American West, and N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945), pupil of Howard Pyle, became one of the most sought after and prolific illustrators of his time, creating over 3,000 paintings and illustrating over 100 books with a variety of themes: Native American culture, the American West, pirates, rural scenes, etc. These artists existed at a time when there was a major overlap between the heyday of Realism and an explosion in the production of books and magazines with a demand for illustrations by highly competent and trained artists.

Through Maureen’s lecture we are reminded that there are many ways to tell a story with paint and pen, and that print media may contain some of the greatest and significant visual works of a culture and era.