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Louis Rhead
Louis Rhead

Louis Rhead

American, 1857-1926
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Louis John Rhead was an English-born American artist, illustrator, author and angler who was born in Etruria, Staffordshire, England. He emigrated to the United States at the age of twenty-four.

The Rhead family had operated and worked in the Staffordshire Potteries for at least three generations. Louis' father George W. Rhead worked in the pottery industry and was a highly respected gilder and ceramic artist. In the 1870s, George Rhead taught art and design in Staffordshire schools. He founded Fenton School of Art.

Louis and all his siblings attended their father's art classes and worked in the potteries as children. His brothers Frederick Alfred Rhead and George Woolliscroft Rhead Jr. (1855–1920) were also artistic, and Louis, later in his career, sometimes collaborated with them, for example in book-illustration projects. Louis was also the uncle of the potters Charlotte Rhead and Frederick Hurten Rhead.

Because Louis demonstrated exceptional talent, when he was thirteen in 1872, his father sent him to study in Paris, France with artist Gustave Boulanger. After three years in Paris, Louis Rhead returned to work in the potteries as a ceramic artist at Minton and later at Wedgwood. In 1879 he gained a scholarship at the National Art Training School, South Kensington, London. After graduating from South Kensington in 1881, Louis Rhead worked briefly for Wedgwood and worked for the London publisher Cassell.

In 1883 at the age of twenty-four, Louis Rhead was offered a position as Art Director for the U.S. publishing firm of D. Appleton in New York City. He accepted and emigrated to the U.S. in the fall of 1883. In 1884 he married Catherine Bogart Yates, thus becoming an American citizen. Louis and Catherine lived in Flatbush, Brooklyn overlooking Prospect Park for forty years.

In the early 1890s, Rhead became a prominent poster artist and was heavily influenced by the work of Swiss artist Eugène Grasset. During the poster craze of the early 1890s, Rhead's poster art appeared regularly in Harper's Bazaar, Harper's Magazine, St. Nicolas, Century Magazine, Ladies Home Journal and Scribner's Magazine. An exhibition of his work was organized by the Salon des Cent in Paris. Three of his posters wer published in Les Maîtres de l'Affiche. In 1895 he won a Gold Medal for Best American Poster Design at the first International Poster Show in Boston.

By the late 1890s, the popularity of poster art declined, and Rhead turned his skills to book illustration. Between 1902 and his death in 1926, Rhead illustrated numerous children's books published by Harpers and others. Most notable among these were editions of: Robin Hood, The Swiss Family Robinson, Robinson Crusoe, The Deerslayer, Treasure Island, Kidnapped and Heidi.

Rhead was an avid fly fisher and by his own account started fishing for trout in the U.S. sometime between 1888 and 1890. In 1901 he became interested in angling art and much of his later published works deal with fishing and fly fishing. Rhead was also a tackle dealer and sold his own line of artificial flies. His most famous and celebrated work is American Trout-Stream Insects (1916). At the time of its publication this was one of the first and most comprehensive studies of stream entomology ever published in America.

He died from a heart attack at his retirement home in Amityville, Long Island.

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  • Books & Magazines
The century, August

The century, August (1895)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
The New York Herald; XMAS Number

The New York Herald; XMAS Number (1896)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
The New York Herald; Sunday, December 15

The New York Herald; Sunday, December 15 (1895)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
The Century; Holiday Number; St. Nicholas for Young Folks, August

The Century; Holiday Number; St. Nicholas for Young Folks, August (1894)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
Salon des cent

Salon des cent (1897)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson

Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson (1898)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
Cassell’s Magazine; December

Cassell’s Magazine; December (1896)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
Worcester evening gazette. Easter souvenir.

Worcester evening gazette. Easter souvenir. (1896)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
The Sun

The Sun (1896)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
The Pocket magazine

The Pocket magazine (1896)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
The New York Herald Sunday March 22nd 1896. A newspaper marvel… Easter number

The New York Herald Sunday March 22nd 1896. A newspaper marvel… Easter number (1896)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
The history of over sea by William Morris

The history of over sea by William Morris (1894)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
The evolution of church music

The evolution of church music (ca. 1890–1920)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
The century, midsummer holiday number

The century, midsummer holiday number (1895)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
The century, Christmas number

The century, Christmas number (ca. 1890–1920)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
The Quartier Latin. A magazine devoted to the arts

The Quartier Latin. A magazine devoted to the arts (1890)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
The century magazine for June

The century magazine for June (1896)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
The century for Xmas

The century for Xmas (1895)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
The bookman Xmas number

The bookman Xmas number (ca. 1890–1920)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
The bookman Christmas number

The bookman Christmas number (ca. 1890–1920)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
St. Nicholas, the beautiful Christmas number.

St. Nicholas, the beautiful Christmas number. (1895)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
Scribners for Xmas

Scribners for Xmas (1895)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
Prang’s Easter publications

Prang’s Easter publications (1896)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
Morning Journal

Morning Journal (1900)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
Meadow-grass by Alice Brown

Meadow-grass by Alice Brown (1895)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
Harper’s Bazar, Xmas 1894

Harper’s Bazar, Xmas 1894 (1894)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
Harper’s Bazar, Easter

Harper’s Bazar, Easter (1890)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
Harper’s bazar Thanksgiving 1894

Harper’s bazar Thanksgiving 1894 (1894)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
Harper’s Bazar Thanksgiving 1892

Harper’s Bazar Thanksgiving 1892 (1892)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters
Century Magazine – Midsummer Holiday Number

Century Magazine – Midsummer Holiday Number (1894)

Louis Rhead (American, 1857-1926)
Posters

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