F. O. C. Darley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Felix Octavius Carr Darley (1821–1888) was an American painter in water color and illustrator, known for his illustrations in works by well-known 19th century authors, including: James Fenimore Cooper, Charles Dickens, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Clement Clarke Moore.
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[edit] Life and work
Darley was born in 1821 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a self-taught and prolific artist who started out as a staff artist for a Philadelphia publishing company where he was given a wide variety of assignments. After moving to New York, his work began to appear in magazines such as Harper's Weekly and in books by various publishers. He made 500 drawings for Lossing's History of the United States. Among his lithographic illustrations are those for Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", "Rip Van Winkle", and some scenes in Indian life. The swing and vigor of his style, his facility, and versatility and the high average merit of his numerous works, make him one of the most noteworthy of American illustrators.
Darley, who had previously made illustrations for "The Gold-Bug", signed a contract with Edgar Allan Poe on January 31, 1843 to create original illustrations for his upcoming literary journal The Stylus. The contract, which was through July 1, 1844, requested at least three illustrations per month, "on wood or paper as required," but no more than five, for $7 per illustration.[1] The Stylus was never actually produced.
In 1868 he published, after a visit to Europe, Sketches Abroad with Pen and Pencil. His water color paintings of incidents in American history are full of spirit and his bank-note vignettes are also worthy of mention.
He died in 1881 in Claymont, Delaware and is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His Victorian mansion, located in Claymont, is now known as the Darley House and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
[edit] Illustrations
 Darley illustration from an 1862 print of A Visit From Saint Nicholas, by Clement Clarke Moore |
 Illustration for Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" |
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is in the public domain.
[edit] External links
- F. O. C. Darley at the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog of the Library of Congress
- Scans from an 1881 edition of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Bells" with engraved illustrations F.O.C. Darley
- F.O.C. Darley, "Victorian America's most famous illustrator"
- Illustrations by FOC Darley, American Illustrator 1821-1888
- Inventing the American Past: The Art of F.O.C. Darley
- A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore, in an 1862 edition illustrated by F. O. C. Darley, from Project Gutenberg
- The Winterthur Library Overview of an archival collection on F.O.C. Darley.
