We are such stuff / as dreams are made on

“W are all doubles... but at night... we meet our sleeper,” wrote Tom Stoppard in his play “Hapgood” (1988). He was approaching a common theme, identity, and how we use disguises to change it. In literature, as in life, we turn the world into a carnival to address personal, social, and cultural objectives. In microbiology carnival de-structuring abounds within the living cells of organisms. And in art, identity and its mysteries and disguises have occupied many, who examine it from all angles, exposing its multifaceted and diverse nature. Maxfi eld Parrish takes a playful look at it in his own Masquerade, on this month’s cover. “I don’t know what people fi nd or like in me,” Parrish once said. “I’m hopelessly commonplace.”And although he might not have intended it this way, a modest and unassuming man, he had become ubiquitous in his lifetime. In 1925, one in four American households owned one of his prints. His wildly successful calendar of nature scenes alone sold more than a million copies. His box covers for Crane’s Chocolates fl ew off the shelves. His massive murals, magazine covers, and book illustrations captured the imagination of the public. “As far as the sale of expensive reproductions is concerned, the three most popular artists in the world are Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, and Maxfi eld Parrish,” asserted Time magazine in 1936. A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Parrish knew none of the fi nancial hardships of the proverbial starving artist. His privileged family recognized and nurtured his talent from early childhood. They traveled to Europe for extended periods to broaden his art horizons and appreciation. In his native state he attended Swarthmore