"Fast Asleep, Cream of Wheat Advertisement, 1908" Lot no. 377
By Alice Barber Stephens (American- 1858-1932)
1908 (Estimated)
27.50" x 18.00", Framed 32" x 23 1/4
Charcoal on Board
Signed Lower Right
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Advertisement for Cream of Wheat cereal, 1908 - 1909
In this advertisement for Cream of Wheat, a sleeping child clutches a box of the cereal. She's overseen by an African American "mammy" figure and chef "Rastus," who appeared on the company's packaging and advertisements.
Cream of Wheat Inventory #111
Exhibition History:
"Imprinted: Illustrating Race," Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts - June 11, 2022 through October 30, 2022
"Imprinted: Illustrating Race," Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware - October 18, 2025 through March 1, 2026 (installation photo pictured on this page)
Explore related art collections: Advertisements / Cream of Wheat / Children / 1900s / $20,000 - $50,000 / Women Artists / Work / Labor
See all original artwork by Alice Barber Stephens
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Sincerity and good taste, as well as technical excellence, make the illustrations of Alice Barber Stephens a pleasure to look at. The early discipline of her work as a wood engraver for Scribner's was in some measure responsible for her fine draftsmanship. She was most successful in quiet settings, with humble subjects. Among her best is a series of pictures of old men and women, inmates of the Philadelphia almshouse.
She was trained at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts under Thomas Eakins, and at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, where she later taught portrait and life classes.
Among her many awards were the Mary Smith Prize, from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, in 1890; Bronze Metal, Atlanta Exposition, in 1895; and a Gold Medal in London, 1902.