Maxfield Parrish’s “Daybreak”
This iconic Arcadian image was commissioned by the art publisher House of Art in 1922 specifically to be reproduced as an art print. It was the most popular of all of Parrish’s art prints and is one of the most reproduced paintings in American history. It has been estimated that in the 1920s and 1930s one in four American homes had a copy of this print on their walls.
Although all examples of this work in the p4A reference database are prints, researchers may like to know the recent market history of the original oil on board painting. It sold to Jim Jannard, the owner of Oakley, Inc. on 22 May 1996 at Sotheby’s New York for $4,290,000. He sold it on 25 May 2006 at Christie’s New York for $7,632,000 (estimated $5/$7 million) to actor Mel Gibson and his wife Robyn. In early 2010 this couple, in the midst of a divorce, offered the painting at Christie’s New York with a pre-sale estimate of $4 to $7 million. The painting realized $5.2 million.
Reference note by p4A editorial staff, 2010.