Major Powell Descends the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon SAAM-1979

Henry Clarence Pitz (June 16, 1895 – November 26, 1976) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

artist, illustrator, editor, author, and teacher who wrote and/or illustrated over 160 books, and dozens of magazine covers and articles. His most well-known book is ''The Brandywine Tradition'' (1968).

Life and career

Pitz was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1895. His father was a bookbinder who immigrated from Germany. Pitz graduated from

West Philadelphia High School West Philadelphia High School is a secondary school located in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the intersection of 49th Street and Chestnut Street. History The original West Philadelphia High School (WPHS) building ...

and was awarded a scholarship to the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art. There Pitz studied illustration and became particularly fond of the work of

Howard Pyle Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. In 1894, he began ...

. One of Pitz's instructors at the Museum School was Thornton Oakley, who had been a student of Pyle. He enlisted in the

United States Army Medical Corps The Medical Corps (MC) of the U.S. Army is a staff corps (non-combat specialty branch) of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD) consisting of commissioned medical officers – physicians with either an M.D. or a D.O. degree, at least one ...

in 1917 and became an x-ray technician. He was assigned to Base Camp 56, Allerey, France, assisting Colonel Coates, the unit surgeon. After the war, he returned to Philadelphia. There he began a career of teaching and book illustration, his first notable book being ''Early American Costume'', published by

The Century Company The Century Company was an American publishing company, founded in 1881. History It was originally a subsidiary of Charles Scribner's Sons, named Scribners and Company, but was bought by Roswell Smith and renamed by him after the Century Associ ...

of New York. In 1935, Pitz married Mary "Molly" Wheeler Wood. They remained married until his death in 1976. In 1988, she wrote a short summary of his life, now available online. In the 1930s Pitz joined the monthly magazine ''American Artist'' as an associate editor and writer. He was a regular contributor to the magazine for the rest of his life. In 1950 Pitz was elected to the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the f ...

. In the 1960s Pitz was commissioned by

Houghton, Mifflin and Company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Boston Financ ...

to write ''The Brandywine Tradition'', which remained on the best seller list for ten weeks. A few years later, in 1975, Pitz published a comprehensive book on his favorite illustrator,

. Henry Clarence Pitz died at his home in

Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia Chestnut Hill is a neighborhood in the Northwest Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is known for the high incomes of its residents and high real estate values, as well as its private schools. Geography Boundaries Chestnut H ...

, on November 26, 1976, after working on a painting the day before.Lavelle, op. cit.

Partial bibliography

The following is a partial list of published works by Pitz: *''A Treasury of American Book Illustration'' (editor). New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1947. *''The Practice of Illustration'' New York, Watson-Guptill, 1947. *''Drawing Trees''. New York: Watson-Guptill, 1956. Rev. and enlarged ed. ''How to Draw Trees''. New York: Watson-Guptill, 1972 *''Ink Drawing Techniques.'' New York, Watson-Guptill Publications, 1957. *'' Illustrating Children’s Books: History, Technique, Production''. New York: Watson-Guptill, 1963. *''Drawing Outdoors''. New York: Watson-Guptill, 1965. *''Early American Costume'' (with Edward Warwick). New York: Century, 1929. Revised edition ''Early American Dress: The Colonial and Revolutionary Periods'' (with Edward Warwick and Alexander Wyckoff). New York: Benjamin Blom, 1965. *''Howard Pyle: Writer, Illustrator, Founder of the Brandywine School''. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, MCMLXV 1965. *''The Brandywine Tradition''. New York, Weathervane Books, 1968. *''Charcoal Drawing''. New York: Watson-Guptill, 1971. *''173 Drawings and Illustrations'' (with Frederic Remington). New York: Dover, 1972. *''200 Years of American Illustration''. New York: Random House, 1977.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitz, Henry C 1895 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American painters 20th-century American male artists American male painters American illustrators University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni University of the Arts (Philadelphia) faculty Artists from Philadelphia Writers from Philadelphia United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War I