Franklin Booth - A Prayer for the Road's End (End of the Way) Illustration

An exquisitely detailed work by the master, Franklin Booth. Booth's work is
epitomized by not only precise and intricate linework but striking
compositions and perfectly weighted positive/negative space. This piece,
rendered for Good Housekeeping is no exception. It
portrays the pivotal moment as life transitions to after life. Death
emerges from the black abyss to usher in a young woman.
His touch brings the end of one form of existence and in so doing, reveals
another. The woman's expression is not one of fear nor pain, remorse nor
regret, but of simple acceptance. She reaches out to the grandfatherly figure
willingly and Booth captures the moment that means everything, the moment they
touch. While the angel's side of the chasm that separates worlds is dark,
mysterious, the woman's is filled with light and clarity. The foreground
however, reveals
a hint of what awaits at her journey's end. A staircase leads down into tall
grassy fields, mottled with numerous flowers, surely a refuge of peace and
contentment.
Booth's composition leads the viewer's eye directly to the point of contact, a
touch as gentle as it is earth shaking in it's implication. A fitting contrast
of heavy linework frames the old figure, swirling in intricate patterns pushing
him forward from the background. HIs legs are lost in its vagaries as he
emerges. His expression is solemn yet kindly. Although the bulk of the
illustration covers the top half of the paper, the bottom is weighted with a
perfect counterbalance of of dark textures, particularly in the lower right
which ascend back up to the main image. The decorative figures that anchor the text box are not
mere afterthoughts, but are sized and composed of just the correct line width to
affix the asymmetrical balance. With the final addition of published text, the
overall effect Booth sought to portray would be complete.

To think Booth created such spectacular works with the speed and regularity
required by the publications he worked for, is testament to the mans'
professionalism and genius.

Thanks to Duke Fuller for unearthing the original title and publication source of this piece, It accompanied "A prayer for the Road's End" by Theodosia Garrison in the November 1917 edition of Good Housekeeping

The top portion of this piece was reprinted in The Art of Franklin Booth (1925)
and its 1976 resurrection by Nostalgia Press. These books list the title of the piece as "End of the Way",