""He surveyed himself with satisfaction," for An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louis" Lot no. 2725
By Jessie Willcox Smith (American- 1863-1935)
1902 (Estimated)
19.5" x 11.5", Framed 26.75" x 18.75"
Charcoal on Board
Signed Lower Right
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"He surveyed himself with satisfaction." Illustration for An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott, published in 1902 by Little, Brown, & Company
Smith, Jessie Willcox:Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1863 to an affluent family, Jessie Willcox Smith attended private schools in that city, as well as in Cincinnati, Ohio. At age 20, she went to work as a kindergarten teacher but soon learned that she could not handle the stress of dealing with small children. On a suggestion from one of her cousins, Smith took art classes, first at the School of Design for Women, then at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Later, Smith went on to study at Drexel University. It was at that school she became good friends with two other artists, Elizabeth Shippen Green and Violet Oakley. The trio dubbed themselves "The Red Rose Girls," taking the name from the inn where they lived. Smith's art work appeared in magazines, books and calendars. Soon she was sought out to do illustrations for ads for Ivory Soap, Kodak and Quaker. In 1915, Smith not only signed a contract as the cover illustrator for Good Housekeeping magazine, she also did one of her most famous pieces, Charles Kingsley's "The Water-Babies." Smith's art work appeared in such periodicals as Ladies Home Journal, Harper's, Century and Leslie's Weekly. She also did illustrations for Little Red Riding Hood and the cover for Heidi. Smith passed away in 1935 at the age of 71. Fifty-six years later, she was inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame, just the second woman to be so honored at the time.
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Jessie Wilcox Smith never married, but throughout her long career, specialized in drawing and painting mothers, babies and children. Her training was acquired at the School of Design for Women, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with Thomas Eakins, and at the Drexel Institute under Howard Pyle.
She had begun as a kindergarten teacher but turned to an art career with the stimulus and assistance of Howard Pyle. Some of her best-known illustrations were for books: Little Women, Heidi, A book of Old Stories and Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses. She also painted a great many illustrations for magazines such as Collier's and McClure's, and did nearly 200 covers for Good Housekeeping. For several years, she shared house and studio with two other Pyle students, Elizabeth Shippen Green and Violet Oakley. Working in close proximity they also strongly influenced eachother's work as well as that of several other Pyle - school women. This relationship is told in The Red Rose Girls by Alice Carter. Smith painted and exhibited widely, revieving many awards, a Silver Metal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. She was also commissioned to paint many portraits of children.
Two other biographies, Jessie Wilcox Smith by S. Michael Schnessel, and Jessie Wilcox Smith American Illustrator by Edward D. Nudelman (who also contributed A bibliography) have been published.