Maxfield Parrish "The Knave" oil on board, 1925. Initialed lower right, "M.P". The artist's full title inscribed in his distinctive printing, "The Knave under the tree with the tarts by Maxfield Parrish", and down below, "HERALD: In state of great excitement ...He was sitting under the shrubbery eating a tart.", "Maxfield Parrish, Windsor, VT, Jan. 1925". Board: 20.125"H x 16.375"W; Frame: 28.125"H x 24.375"W. PROVENANCE: Scott & Fowles, New York, NY (label on verso). Valley House, Dallas, TX. Property from the collection of Mr. Kenneth W. Davis, Fort Worth, Texas. LITERATURE: Coy Ludwig, 709. Coy Ludwig, "Maxfield Parrish," pg. 206. Paul W. Skeeters, "Maxfield Parrish, The Early Years," 1893-1930", p. 263, illustrated in color. Alma M. Gilbert, "Parrish and Photography," p.62 illustrated in color, photo 43; p. 63 b/w photo of Jean Parrish. NOTE: In the brown paper backing there is a typed title: "The Knave of Hearts: The Knave under the Tree with the Tarts by Maxfield Parrish". The number "12" painted by the artist in red which may have signified it was the 12th painting he was sending his gallery, Scott and Fowles, for his exhibit of 50 paintings with them in November and December, 1925. All fifty works, including many of the illustrations for the "Knave of Hearts" book were sold and viewed by over six thousand visitors to the gallery during the showing. "The Knave of Hearts", one of the most successful books of Parrish illustrations, was published by Charles Scribner's and Sons originally in 1925. The author, Louise Saunders, and her husband, Scribner's famous editor, Maxwell Perkins, asked their friend and Cornish Colony neighbor, Maxfield Parrish, in early 1923 to see if he might be interested in illustrating it using his magnificent coloring and whimsical characters. Parrish was quite taken by the book's narrative and possibilities and undertook creating the 25 illustrations for the book. The oversized book measures 13.5"x11.5" and was published in two versions: a boxed hardcover and a spiral bound edition. The hard cover book sold for the princely sum of $25 dollars, almost a week's wages in those days because of the Parrish images. Today, if found, the original book sells for between $1,800-$2,000. Models: Parrish used principally four models for the many characters he created for the book. He used his face several times throughout the book for most of the male figures: "The Manager" who opens the book in the beginning, the cantankerous "King Pompdebile, The Fool in Green, Blue Hose and Yellow Hose" and the character who closes it, suitably titled: "The End". His two other principal models were Kitty Owens, the granddaughter of Justice Learned Hand, as "Lady Violetta" and Sue Lewin, the artist's primary model, as most of the figures for the Knave with one interesting exception: Parrish's 12 year old daughter, Jean Parrish, posed for one and only one painting of "The Knave": the hauntingly beautiful image of "The Knave" sitting in the field with the castle in the distance. (See photographs of Jean posing for this piece as well as Sue Lewin posing for the other images of the Knave- courtesy of the Parrish Collection Papers, Rauner Library, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH). The mystery as to why Parrish chose to have Jean model for this one image in the book is still undiscovered. Although Kitty Owen was a few years older than Jean, they attended the same private school and she spent some time visiting with Jean and the Parrish family. The artist convinced Kitty's mother to allow her to pose for all the figures of Lady Violetta. Two years later when Kitty was visiting with her grandfather, Judge Learned Hand, who also lived in the Cornish Colony, she agreed to pose again with Jean for the figure of the reclining lady in Parrish's most famous work: "Daybreak". Today, according to a survey of collectors, it is felt that the three most famous paintings that emerged from the "Knave of Hearts" book are: "Romance" (the book's cover linings), "The Knave" (with Jean Parrish posing) and "The Knave Watching Violetta Depart" ( with Sue Lewin as the Knave). We would like to extend our thanks to Alma Gilbert-Smith for her assistance in cataloging and authenticating this work. Maxfield Parrish (American, 1870-1966).