We still adore him. Here’s how the artist changed Wilmington.
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On a cool September day in 1900, a small group of cyclists pedaled their way from Chadds Ford into Wilmington. Several young men accompanied a middle-aged gentleman to participate in an event that established Wilmington as the center for American illustration.
The older man was the famous artist Howard Pyle. Among the younger ones was his protégé, Frank E. Schoonover. Together the group laid the cornerstone for Pyle’s Small School of Art, at 1305 N. Franklin St. in Wilmington.
Schoonover had studied with Pyle at Drexel Institute in Philadelphia and continued to revere his mentor as he followed him to Chadds Ford for the summers, then to Wilmington. He would live in Wilmington for the rest of his days, contribute to its quality of life, and establish his own reputation as a leader in American illustration.
Schoonover pursued his career as an artist, teacher and community leader for nearly 70 years, until a stroke curtailed his activities in 1968. His adventurous spirit took him on research trips to the sparsely settled western United States and its major cities, and to Jamaica and the Canadian wilderness, where he sketched, photographed, interviewed, and kept journals for the articles and books he and others wrote and he illustrated. From Pyle, he learned that experiencing the setting for a story and accuracy in detail were keys to success in his field.
Schoonover’s keen observation of nature, begun in his childhood summers in rural Bushkill, Pennsylvania, proved to be a valuable skill. His depictions of the Indians of Canada, pirates, cowboys, and subjects from classical literature made his reputation, distinguished his work, and led to commissions for more than 750 magazine articles and 150 books.
Schoonover first occupied a studio at 11 E. Eighth St., but people often wonder about the unusual building—long and narrow with many gables and pebble-dash walls—on a hill at the corner of Rodney Street and Shallcross Avenue in Wilmington. The clue to its purpose is the many north-facing skylights that painters prefer to light their studios.
Built in early 1906 by mill owner and art patron Samuel Bancroft Jr. for Schoonover, Stanley Arthurs, N.C. Wyeth and two others, the structure, known as the Rodney Street Studios, still serves as artists’ work and gallery spaces.
On the wall of the studio he occupied for more 60 years, Schoonover scratched “moved in March 8 1906.” As a young schoolboy, Steve Gregg, who lived across the street, recalls visiting Schoonover’s studio. “It was like a museum. There were so many interesting things there.”
Around the room were snowshoes, a toboggan, a birch bark canoe, an antique sailing ship model, stuffed birds and other artifacts Schoonover had acquired on his travels. Many are still there. Until his marriage, Schoonover, like many single men, rented a room, mainly from widow Eva Swayne at 1300 W. Seventh St. Thus the studio was in essence his home, the place where he kept the things that mattered to him and where he entertained his friends.
Schoonover, continues on page 2