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