American artist, born in Philadelphia on the 23rd of June 1822. While a clerk in a mercantile house in Philadelphia, young Darley produced some humorous sketches which were praised so highly that he devoted himself to the pursuit of art by making drawings for engravers. His illustrations for books eventually became almost numberless; for the works of Fenimore Cooper he made more than five hundred drawings. Some of his sketches were reduced to appear on government bonds and bank-notes; he also produced many outline illustrations on stone. Among the latter are the series illustrating Irving’s Rip Van Winkle and Sleepy Hollow. In 1852 he was made an academician of the New York Academy of Design. His exhibitions are nearly all in black and white. From 1864 until 1868 he resided in Europe. After his return home he published Sketches Abroad with Pen and Pencil (New York, 1868); Outlines to the Scarlet Letter (1879); Illustrations to Evangeline (1883); and Illustrations to Shakespeare’s Plays (1886). He died in Claymont, DE, on the 27th of March 1888.
