A Mid-Semester Nights Dream

The laboratory fairies at Haverford College recognized a talented artist in the 19-year-old Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)4 They did their best to whisk him through his chemistry course to his true calling as a painter, illustrator, and designer. Indeed, he later placed these fairies on retainer and often used them as a leitmotif in his woodland scenes.  

Although Parrish s family were Quakers, he married a non-Quaker and, although a declaration of sincere interest would have allowed him to remain a Quaker, it may be supposed that he elected not to rejoin the Quakers. 1 am grateful for discussions with Diana F. Peterson, Haverford College Library, and Barbara Katus, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, which ran the first-ever critical retrospective of Maxfield Parrish in 1999. 

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