While at the Free Library of Philadelphia, we processed the Thornton Oakley collection of Howard Pyle and his students. The long name of the collection matched its size: large! This collection contained correspondence, art work, photographs, tear sheets, and many more items regarding Howard Pyle and his students from the Brandywine School of Art.

While Howard Pyle’s name might not be well-known, several of his students are widely acclaimed as some of the best American illustrators of the 20^th century: Violet Oakley, Maxfield Parrish, N.C. Wyeth, Elizabeth Shippen Green, and Jessie Wilcox Smith. Pyle, an accomplished artist, taught drawing and illustration at Drexel, starting in 1894. The success of his classes led to the creation of the School of Illustration within the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry. Disliking the lack of personal attention he was able to give his students’, Pyle left Drexel and taught students at his studio in Wilmington and at Chadd’s Ford Mill. He was quite a character in the art world and was known for his lack of time restriction on a student’s education. Pyle taught students until he felt that his instruction was no longer needed.

The collection was donated by Thornton Oakley, a student of Pyle, who collected materials about Pyle, other students, and information about the Brandywine School of Art. Processing this collection was unique due to the fact that the materials we had included primary and secondary sources. This really helped Forrest and me to develop a better understanding of the people, places, and art work in the collection.

One of the most rewarding experiences processing this collection was the ability to handle and see the art work and prints of Pyle and his students. Some of the artists have completed work at the Pennsylvania State Capital, like Violet Oakley, while others have done murals at local institutions such as The Franklin Institute, like Thornton Oakley.

Overall, the Oakley collection at the Free Library is such a treasure to not only Delaware Valley and Philadelphia history, but also to the history of 20^th century art. With the extent of Oakley’s collection, I would not hesitate to say that the collection is arguably one of the most complete documentations of great American Illustration.