Maxfield Parrish created Masquerade as a cover for the October 19, 1922, issue of Life magazine. The painting’s fanciful, harlequin-like subject is typical of Parrish’s highly imaginative oeuvre. Parrish was at the height of his artistic powers and popularity during the 1920s and was called “a master of make-believe” by his contemporaries. Masquerade displays the artist’s accomplished draftsmanship and illusionistic style in the curving folds of the black-and-white checkerboard fabric.