The Delaware Art Museum presents “Frank E. Schoonover: An Artist for All Seasons,” featuring more than 25 paintings from every period of Schoonover’s career, on view November 22⁆ebruary 1.
Schoonover (1877‱972) is recognized as one of the most beloved and prolific illustrators of his time. His contribution to American illustration spanned more than 40 years and included more than 2,200 illustrations. His work appeared in most of the popular periodicals in the first half of the Twentieth Century, including Harper’s, Scribner’s, Saturday Evening Post, American Boy, Country Gentleman and Colliers , as well as in more than 150 books, particularly children’s classics and contemporary fiction.
This retrospective exhibit is mounted to celebrate the publication of the first comprehensive catalog of the artist’s work. “Frank E. Schoonover: An Artist for All Seasons” includes works from private collections, some of which have never been exhibited in public, as well as one from the Wilmington Trust Company’s Schoonover Collection. Major paintings by Schoonover from the Delaware Art Museum’s collection, including “Hopalong Takes Command,” 1905, and “Hans Brinker,” 1924, will be on view in nearby galleries.
Born in Oxford, N.J., in 1877, Schoonover attended Drexel Institute in Philadelphia where he studied with the American illustrator and Wilmington-native Howard Pyle. Pyle also invited the young artist to attend his summer school in Chadds Ford †an honor bestowed upon only the most promising students. With Pyle’s help, Schoonover initiated his career in 1899 with four paintings for the book Jersey Boy in the Revolution . The first of these paintings, “Nearer and Nearer They Approached,” 1899, is included in the exhibition.
After settling in Wilmington in 1900, Schoonover traveled widely in the United States and Canada, acquiring a unique perspective and a rich reservoir of experiences, which he incorporated into many works. He was later recognized as an expert on the indigenous tribes of the Hudson Bay area. When the popularity of illustration waned in the 1940s, Schoonover turned to landscapes and commissions, including designs for magnificent stained glass windows. One of the works in the exhibition is a preliminary watercolor cartoon that Schoonover composed for one of 13 stained glass windows that he designed for Wilmington’s Immanuel Church, Highlands.
The Delaware Art Museum is at 2301 Kentmere Parkway. For more information, 302-571-9590, 866-232-3714 or www.delart.org .
