Illustrating Her World: Ellen B. T. Pyle

August 1, 2009 – January 3, 2010

Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle (1876-1936) was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania.  She studied art at the Drexel Institute, and she was one of the few female students invited to study illustration at Howard Pyle’s Chadds Ford summer school. She married Pyle’s brother Walter in 1904.  She was a prolific illustrator during the 1920s, famous especially for her 40 covers for The Saturday Evening Post.  Her recognizable style drew acclaim from around the country.  She receives the first overview of her career in this exhibition of approximately 50 works.

Ice Cream Cone, 1922, cover for The Saturday Evening Post, August 12, 1922 Ellen B. T. Pyle (1876-1936) Oil on board, 20 x 20 inches Lent by Mr. & Mrs. David C. Wyeth © 1922 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All Rights Reserved. www.curtispublishing.com	Girls Sipping Sodas, 1935, cover for The Saturday Evening Post, September 21, 1935 Ellen B. T. Pyle (1876-1936) Oil on board, 28 x 22 inches Private collection © 1935 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All Rights Reserved. www.curtispublishing.com

Flower Children, 1934, study for cover for The Saturday Evening Post, May 5, 1934 Ellen B. T. Pyle (1876-1936) Oil on board, 16 1/2 x 13 inches Lent by Robert T. and Lynne Horvath © 1934 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All Rights Reserved. www.curtispublishing.com	Waiting for the Bus, 1930, cover for The Saturday Evening Post, December 13, 1930 Ellen B. T. Pyle (1876-1936) Oil on board, 27 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches Delaware Art Museum, Louisa du Pont Copeland Memorial Fund, 1938 © 1930 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indpls, IN. All Rights Reserved. www.curtispublishing.com

Photograph of Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle, not dated

Organizer & Sponsors

Illustrating Her World: Ellen B. T. Pyle was organized by Lisa Smith and the Delaware Art Museum.
Support is provided by Family & Friends of Ellen B. T. Pyle, Curtis Publishing and The Saturday Evening Post, and Wilmington Trust.
In Delaware, this exhibition is made possible, in part, by grants from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

Illustrating Her World: Ellen B. T. Pyle The exhibition Illustrating Her World: Ellen B. T. Pyle has a companion book by the same title. Illustrating Her World features an illustrated biography of the artist as well as a checklist of the works in the exhibition. Click here for more information.