Donated to the Crocker Art Museum by the family of late art collector Marc Kopman, comes two rare drawings by the prolific illustrator Louis Rhead (1857-1926). The artist was born in England and trained in Paris, before accepting a position as art director for the United States publishing firm, D. Appleton in New York City, at only 24 years old.
“The Rhead drawings donated include The Arabian Nights, the frontispiece from the 1916 Harper & Brothers published edition of the text, which depicts the iconic Scheherazade,” explains museum representatives. “The other work, Untitled (Art Nouveau Maiden), 1890 to 1900, was likely created for Harper’s or Century Magazine.”
Louis Rhead (1857-1926), Untitled (Art Nouveau Maiden), 1890-1900. Ink on paper, 11½ x 18½ in. Crocker Art Museum, 2024.128.2.
The Smithsonian American Art Museum shares, “In the 1890s, Rhead designed nearly one hundred posters. His first posters were done in England for Cassell’s Magazine and the Weekly Dispatch, and also for Phitesi boots. In the United States he created posters for a variety of magazines, including The Century, St. Nicholas, Harper’s, The Bookman and Scribner’s. He also produced large one-and two-sheet posters for the New York Sun and the New York Journal, and commercial posters for the printing firm Louis Prang and Company, as well as for products such as Lundborg perfumes, Pearline washing powders and Packer’s soap.”
Louis Rhead (1857-1926), The Arabian Nights, 1916. India ink on paper, 6½ x 6½ in. Crocker Art Museum, 2024.128.1.
The museum continues to note that Rhead’s posters were widely acclaimed; solo exhibitions of his work were presented in London in 1896 and in Paris at the Salon des Cent in 1897. After 1900, Rhead created illustrations for literary works and wrote several books on fishing. He was even known for writing children’s books.
Both of these significant drawings will contribute to the Crocker Museum’s vibrant collection and be enjoyed by their local patrons and visiting tourists alike. —
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