Daybreak

Between two towering stone columns, a young girl lies stretched across a marble floor while a second figure bends over her, as if waking her at the start of a new day. Maxfield Parrish painted this dreamy scene in 1922, filling the background with hazy mountains, a still lake, and blossoms tumbling from above. The soft morning glow gives everything a gentle, otherworldly quality. Most striking of all is the rich blue that runs through the sky and water, a shade so linked to this artist that people began calling it "Parrish blue."

The story behind this picture is really about its popularity. "Daybreak" became a runaway hit, and by some accounts a print of it hung in one out of every four American homes, making it perhaps the best-selling art print of its time. Parrish achieved that glowing, lit-from-inside look by layering thin glazes of color one over another, a slow and patient method that paid off beautifully. Do not go searching for a deep hidden meaning here, because there is not one. The painting was made to be lovely and calming, a peaceful little world that ordinary people simply enjoyed living with.