F. O. C. Darley
Felix Octavius Carr Darley (June 23, 1822 – March 27, 1888), often credited as F. Darley, was an American illustrator, known for his illustrations in works by well-known 19th-century authors, including James Fenimore Cooper, Charles Dickens, Mary Mapes Dodge, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving, George Lippard, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Donald Grant Mitchell, Clement Clarke Moore, Francis Parkman, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Nathaniel Parker Willis.
Also recorded as Felix Octavius Carr Darley · Felix O. C. Darley · Felix Octavius Carr Darly · Félix O. C. Darley
F. O. C. Darley

Border Settlers in Ohio by F.O.C. Darley, 1876. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "Border settlers in Ohio" The Ne · Public domain
- Name
- F.
- Birth Name
- Felix Octavius Carr Darley
- Born
- 23 June 1822
- Birthplace
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Died
- 27 March 1888
- Place of death
- Claymont, Delaware, U.S.
- Field
- Illustration, painting
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- painter · illustrator · artist · printer
- Fields
- illustration · book illustration · painting
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
Felix Octavius Carr Darley (June 23, 1822 – March 27, 1888), often credited as F. Darley, was an American illustrator, known for his illustrations in works by well-known 19th-century authors, including James Fenimore Cooper, Charles Dickens, Mary Mapes Dodge, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving, George Lippard, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Donald Grant Mitchell, Clement Clarke Moore, Francis Parkman, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Nathaniel Parker Willis.
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Note VALÉORINE
F. O. C. Darley (1822–1888) was an American artist, illustrator and painter, among other activities. Born in Philadelphia, the artist died in Claymont. F. O. C. Darley was active in book illustration, illustration and painting.
Languages used include English. Works by the artist are held at Brandywine Museum of Art, Gilcrease Museum and Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q5423992 · wikipedia · F. O. C. Darley
In this article
Biography
Biography
The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is illustration, book illustration and painting. Work by F. Darley is recorded in the collections of Minneapolis Institute of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gilcrease Museum and Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Bacon's rebellion, Virginia, 1676-1677: Lydia, the wife of the rebel Edmund Cheeseman, faints as he is condemned for treason by the governor of Virginia, William Berkeley; a toothless old lady is restrained from attacking her. Coloured etching by A. Bobbet after F. Darley., 1800-1899, by F. O. C. Darley
F. O. C. Darley · Wellcome Collection, London · Wellcome Collection
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — F. O. C. Darley • Birth Name — Felix Octavius Carr Darley • Born — 23 June 1822 • Birthplace — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. • Died — 27 March 1888 • Place of death — Claymont, Delaware, U.S. • Field — Illustration, painting
Biography
Biography
Darley was born on June 23, 1822, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. • Illustration — Darley's wife, Genny G. Colburn • Illustration — Darley's gravesite at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts Darley was a self-taught and prolific artist who started out as a staff artist for a Philadelphia publishing company, where he was given a wide variety of assignments. He later moved to New York City, and his work began to appear in magazines such as Harper's Weekly and in books by various publishers. Darley made 500 drawings for Benson John Lossing's History of the United States. Among his lithographic illustrations are those for Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", and some scenes in Indian life. The swing and vigor of his style, his facility, and versatility and the high average merit of his numerous works, make him one of the most noteworthy of American illustrators. Darley signed a contract with Edgar Allan Poe on January 31, 1843, to create original illustrations for his upcoming literary journal The Stylus. The contract, which was through July 1, 1844, requested at least three illustrations per month, "on wood or paper as required," but no more than five, for $7 per illustration. The Stylus was never actually produced but Darley provided illustrations for the final installments of the first serial publication of Poe's award-winning tale "The Gold-Bug" later that year. In 1848, Darley provided the drawings for the first fully illustrated edition of Irving's "Rip Van Winkle", which was printed and distributed by the American Art-Union. That same year, Darley also illustrated an edition of Irving's The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. and then his Wolfert's Roost in 1855. In 1851, Darley was elected into the National Academy of Design as an honorary member. In 1852, he was appointed a full academician at the academy. At the age of thirty-seven, Darley married Jane Colburn in 1859. Over his career, he produced nearly 350 drawings for James Fenimore Cooper, later collected in a several-volume edition of Cooper's novels printed from 1859 to 1861. In 1868, following a visit to Europe, he published Sketches Abroad with Pen and Pencil. His water color paintings of incidents in American history are full of spirit and include bank-note vignettes. Darley died in 1888 at his home in Claymont, Delaware, and was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His Victorian mansion, located in Claymont, is now known as the Darley House and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
The authorities additionally record the headings Felix Octavius Carr Darley, Felix O. Darley, Felix Octavius Carr Darly, Félix O. Darley and NY Darley. His recorded language was English. He married Jenny G.
Identity
Identity
What the record establishes about F. Darley is recorded as painter, illustrator, artist and printer.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1822
F. O. C. Darley born at Philadelphia.
1888
F. O. C. Darley died at Claymont.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Philadelphia.
Birth place
Claymont.
Death place
Illustrations
• Illustration — Frontispiece for Washington Irving's A History of New York • Illustration — Darley illustration from an 1862 print of A Visit From St. Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore • Illustration — Illustration for Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" • Illustration — On The Trail, now housed at Walters Art Museum in Baltimore • Illustration — Sherman's March to the Sea, now housed at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. • Illustration — Washington at Monmouth, from Washington Irving's Life of George Washington
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Pitz, Henry C. The Brandywine Tradition. Weathervane Books. 31. 1968. 0-517-16431-0.
- 2.Pitz, Henry C. The Brandywine Tradition. Weathervane Books. 22. 1968. 0-517-16431-0.
- 3.Allen, Hervey. Israfel: The Life and Times of Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., 1934: 224.
- 4.F. O. C. Darley Society online.
- 5.Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998: 338. .
- 6.Burstein, Andrew. The Original Knickerbocker: The Life of Washington Irving. New York: Basic Books, 2007: 337.
- 7.Callow, James T. Kindred Spirits: Knickerbocker Writers and American Artists, 1807–1855. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1967: 184.
- 8.King, Ethel. Darley, The Most Popular Illustrator of His Time. Theo. Gaus' Sons, Inc. 22. 1964.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q5423992: F. O. C. DarleyWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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