Howard Pyle, The story of King Arthur and his knights (New York: C. Scribner’s Sons, 1903).

Howard Pyle (1853 - 1911) wrote and illustrated 4 Arthurian books, of which this is the first (he is also well known for another medieval subject, his Robin Hood). Pyle was the most important American illustrator of his generation, and teacher to a host of others, including N.C. Wyeth, whose work is featured above. The overall design and illustration of the books suggest something of Beardsley, but with a robust muscularity which is altogether his own.

Pyle was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, and had his own schools at Chadd’s Ford, Pennsylvania, and at Wilmington; the influence of rural life is evident in his medieval illustrations. His Guenevere, pictured here, is an enigmatic figure, similar in appearance to some of the “evil” Arthurian women also pictured through the book.