Maxfield Parrish - Daybreak

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Inspired by - Maxfield Parrish  - Daybreak

Daybreak was commissioned in 1920 for the sole purpose of reproduction. It was distributed to the American public as a color lithographic print. It went on to be the most reproduced painting in American history. One 1925 survey estimated that as many as one in every four American households had a "Daybreak" print on its wall. The naked figure in "Daybreak" is Parrish's eleven-year-old daughter Jean. The reclining figure is Kitty Owen Spence, the eighteen-year-old granddaughter of William Jennings Bryan. Bryan was a three-time presidential candidate for the Democratic party. He bought the original, and it was held by his family until 1974. In preliminary drawings, there was third character. The model for which was Susan Lewin, Maxfield’s housekeeper and lover. Before the painting was released, daughter Jean asked that Lewin be removed.

On May 25, 2006, Daybreak was purchased by Mel Gibson's wife, Robyn at auction at Christie's for $7.6 million. This set a record price for a Parrish painting. When they divorced three years later, it was sold again, but this time for $5.2 million. 

See original painting:  https://bit.ly/4qOOhDS

Henri Rousseau - The Dream

Created in the same year as his death, The Dream was   Rousseau’s last painting, which was debuted at the MOMA only a few months before his untimely death.

Henri Rousseau was a self-taught artist who worked as a customs agent on the outskirts of Paris. He was considered one of the great naïve artists. In today’s art market his work would be considered “Outsider Art”. Much of his work was ridiculed, but he did have a small following. Pablo Picasso was one of his big fans and promoted his work. His characteristic paintings, in particular, those on the theme of the jungle captivated the art world with their representations of lush plant and animal life painted with incredible detail and precision. What's interesting though is that Rousseau himself never set foot outside France. His imaginary scenes were informed by visits to the Paris zoo and botanical gardens, and images from postcards, photographs, and illustrated journals. To see original: https://bit.ly/2GWMjin

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Henri Rousseau - The Dream - 1910
MOMA

Henry Fuseli – The Nightmare

The Nightmare was likely inspired by an interpretation of dreams based on Germanic folklore, in which demons possessed people who slept alone. In these stories men were visited by horses, and women were ravished by the devil. The woman is surmounted by an incubus; a mythological demon who lies upon sleeping women. It has remained Fuseli's best-known work. With its first exhibition in 1782 at the Royal Academy of London, the image became famous. After that Fuseli painted at least three versions.
To see the original: https://bit.ly/2VREsHx

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Henry Fuseli - The Nightmare - 1871
Detroit Institute of Art