Happy Birthday: Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. His works featured distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. The National Museum of American Illustration deemed his painting Daybreak (1922) to be the most successful art print of the 20th century.

Maxfield Parrish was born in Philadelphia to painter and etcher Stephen Parrish and Elizabeth Bancroft. His given name was Frederick Parrish, but he later adopted Maxfield, his paternal grandmother's maiden name, as his middle, then finally as his professional name. He was raised in a Quaker society.  As a child he began drawing for his own amusement, showed talent, and his parents encouraged him. Between 1884 and 1886, his parents took Parrish to Europe, where he toured England, Italy, and France, was exposed to architecture and the paintings by the old masters, and studied at the Paris school of Dr. Kornemann.

He attended the Haverford School and later studied architecture at Haverford College for two years beginning in 1888. To further his education in art, from 1892 to 1895 he studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under artists Robert Vonnoh and Thomas Pollock Anshutz. After graduating from the program, Parrish went to Annisquam, Massachusetts, where he and his father shared a painting studio. A year later, with his father's encouragement, he attended the Drexel Institute of Art, Science & Industry where he studied with Howard Pyle.

Parrish's works continue to influence pop culture. Daybreak is seen in a treehouse in Terrence Malick's 1973 film Badlands. The cover of the 1985 Bloom County cartoon collection Penguin Dreams and Stranger Things comprises elements of Daybreak, The Garden of Allah, and The Lute Players. The poster for The Princess Bride was inspired by Daybreak. In 2001, Parrish was featured in a United States Post Office commemorative stamp series honoring American illustrators, including Parrish.

The 1986 television commercial announcing Nestle's Alpine White chocolate bar, entitled "Sweet Dreams," staged live-action representations of Parrish's Ecstasy, Dinky Bird, and Daybreak.

The Elton John album Caribou has a Parrish-inspired background. The Moody Blues album The Present uses a variation of the Parrish painting Daybreak for its cover. In 1984, Dali's Car, the British New Wave project of Peter Murphy and Mick Karn, used Daybreak as the cover art of their only album, The Waking Hour. The Irish musician Enya has been inspired by the works of Parrish. The cover art of her 1995 album The Memory of Trees is based on his painting The Young King of the Black Isles. A number of her music videos include Parrish imagery, including "Caribbean Blue".

In the 1995 music video "You Are Not Alone", Michael Jackson and his then wife Lisa Marie Presley appear semi-nude in emulation of Daybreak. The Italian singer-songwriter Angelo Branduardi's fourth album La pulce d'acqua of 1977 featured nine inlay full colour print reproductions of painter Mario Convertino's works; one of them is clearly inspired by Parrish's Stars.

The original painting of Daybreak sold in 2006 for US$7.6 million. The National Museum of American Illustration claims the largest body of his work in any collection, with sixty-nine works by Parrish including the 1910 Curtis Publishing Company's 18-panel mural commission. Some of his works are located at the Hood Museum of Art in Hanover, New Hampshire, and a few at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The San Diego Museum of Art organized and toured a collection of his work in 2005.

The American painter Norman Rockwell referred to Parrish as "my idol".

Just Finished Reading: The Last English King by Julian Rathbone (1997) [388pp] 

Europe, 1070. Walt the Wanderer is making his way, slowly and painfully, across Europe to the Holy land to seek atonement. The guilt he is carrying is almost crushing him, the guilt of failure, the guilt of shame and the guilt of survival. When he at last looks across the waves at Constantinople he hears a voice he can understand in a sea of foreigners. Unable to pay the ferryman his new companion Quint offers to pay for both of them. Having nothing to offer in return Walt initially declines until Quint says that he can pay his way by telling the story of his life. After a longer than expected pause Walt agrees and tells a tale of growing up in service to a powerful lord, of learning to fight in single combat and in the shield wall, of becoming an elite Companion and of travelling to Ireland, Wales and to France where he met Duke William, the Bastard. He tells his tale of political manoeuvrers, of broken oaths and of love both found and lost and he tells of battles won and battles lost along with his right hand and of fallen heroes including the last English king - Harold Godwinson. 

I've been looking forward to reading this for some time. As someone who is more than a little obsessed with 1066 'and all that' (actually the title of Part VII of the novel, which made me laugh out loud!) I'm always up for reading anything on the subject be it fiction or non-fiction. Unfortunately, so far, the novelisations around the period have been less than impressive – not so for this very good rendition. Although told mostly in 'flashback' I thought it was an excellent way at looking at the events running up to Hastings and the immediate aftermath of the calamity. Not only is Walt in effect paying for his supper he is also using his narrative to come to terms with what happened (to him, Harold and England) and as a method for dealing with his survivor's guilt plus an unhealthy dose of PTSD. The fact that he is often telling his tale with an audience – up to 5-6 people at some points – with his audience asking questions or countering his narrative with THEIR understanding of the facts – allows for a much more rounded look things. 

I think I was most impressed by the way that the author mixes what we DO know of the events with some very plausible explanations for the mysteries that historians still argue and publish books about – notable the much-discussed oath that Harold was purported to have made to support Duke William's claim to the English throne. The thing that gave me MUCH pause for reflection (and a need to read up far more on the period) were the relationships between some of the main players notably Edward the Confessor. I did have my 'suspicions' in the area of his sexual preferences, but the author really ran with them. What actual credence they have will need some more research on my part! Speaking of sex... there is some scattered throughout the novel and it is moderately explicit at times, although its easily skippable. I think the thing that surprised me more than anything was who was having sex with who and how most of it was at least tolerated or regarded as barely noteworthy. Anglo-Saxon sexual mores are something I know VERY little about so I'll see if I can find out more in my reading. 

Overall, I thought this was at least very good with long moments of excellence. I certainly couldn't fault any of the historical fact (or at least what I know of it) and not a single thing broke me out of the narrative. Harold was obviously the hero throughout and William was portrayed as borderline psychotic which he may very well have been taking into account his early life and his actions post-Hastings and especially after the Northern rebellions. Edward played an interesting role rather different from my expectations (sexual preferences aside) which actually explained quite a bit. The battles of Stamford Bridge and especially Hastings were very well done and dramatic – including the in/famous arrow which did briefly raise an eyebrow to be honest, but I forgave him quickly. Loved it and I'm looking forward to more from this author. HIGHLY recommended especially if you have any interest in Anglo-Saxon England or (more especially) the pivotal Battle of Hastings.

Just Finished Reading: The Last Emperor of Mexico – A Disaster in the New World by Edward Shawcross (FP: 2021) [288pp] 

Many years ago, I remember watching a Western on TV and was confused more than a little when a bunch of American mercenaries ambushed some French cavalry (complete with shiny breastplates and lances) in Mexico. I couldn't help but wonder: what on earth are FRENCH cavalry doing in Mexico? I presumed that they might have been protecting French interests or maybe the French ambassador. Or that they might have been 'on loan' to the Mexican Emperor Maximilian who I presumed was Spanish... I was partially right. The French forces were indeed 'on loan' to the emperor who was, in fact, Austrian. The things you learn. 

I'll freely admit that my 'knowledge' of Mexican history was effectively zero (essentially things gleaned from some of the older westerns) until I finished this intriguing book. I think the biggest surprise was the actual nationality of the emperor himself. It turned out that he was the annoying younger brother of the emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire who was 'looking for a role' in the world. Maximilian's name came up in conversation with Napoleon III of France and, after some initial resistance, was thought to be a good fit for the position. Unfortunately, there were just a few problems. Firstly, no one had actually asked the Mexican ruling class what they thought (to say nothing of the people themselves). At that time Mexico was going through a slow-motion Civil War between Conservative and Liberal forces and the imposition of a new Emperor could be political dynamite or, as some hoped, the thing which managed to bring things together. A bigger issue was the Monroe Doctrine of the United States which prohibited any European power from interfering in America's backyard. The idea of an Austrian monarch ruling a neighbouring country and propped up by French forces would not exactly sit well in Washington.  

Fortunately, both problems seemed to have solutions. Firstly, Maximilian was lied to about his support within Mexico and Second, the US became engaged in a Civil War with the breakaway Confederacy. Pre-occupied at home it was expected that if the Confederacy won then the Monroe problem would go away and if the Union won (eventually) they would be weakened and presented with a fait accompli. As you might imagine these were far from solid foundations for a new regime. 

The saddest thing about the whole fiasco is that Maximilian had the very best of intentions regarding his new country. The problem (along with everything else mentioned above) was that Max was both incredibly naive and focused on ALL of the wrong things – for example detailed court protocol rather than boring finances. Maximilian expected that his very presence would be enough to stabilise the country and that the people would love him BECAUSE his was their emperor. Despite being clear that it was going to be a disaster from the outset it was actually mesmerising to watch an entire country turn into a train wreck month by month over a few short years. I only had the smallest of hints that any of this had happened, and the details regularly blew my mind. Quite fascinating and a must read for anyone with even the vaguest interest in Mexican/American history. 

['The Last' Project has (finally) started...! More to come.]