Daybreak is a painting by American artist Maxfield Parrish made in 1922. Daybreak, inspired by the landscape of Vermont and New Hampshire to create lush and romantic tones, is regarded as the most popular art print of the 20th century, based on number of prints made: one for every four American homes. According to the National Museum of American Illustration, it has outsold Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans and Da Vinci's Last Supper. It is still in print. The painting is also part of the core of the neo-classical popular paintings that started to gain traction at the beginning of the 1920s. His work in his staple style was also popularized by the large scale murals he painted in the 1930s.
Daybreak (painting)
Maxfield Parrish was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. His career spanned fifty years and was wildly successful: the National Museum of American Illustration deemed his painting Daybreak (1922) to be the most successful art print of the 20th century.
"The Lantern Bearers" (1908), created for Collier's magazine, shows Parrish's use of glazes and saturated color in an evocative night scene. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
The Dinky Bird, an illustration from Poems of Childhood by Eugene Field (1904), exemplifies Parrish's characteristic use of androgynous figures.
Cadmus Sowing the Dragon's Teeth (1908), created for Collier's
Painting for 30 Aug 1923 Life edition