"Stealing a Ride by Hanging on the Branches" Lot no. 4819
By Elizabeth Shippen Green (1871-1954)
1916
9" x 15", Framed 14.25" x 20.25"
Mixed Media on Paper
Signed Lower Right
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Story illustration for "The Return" by Georgia Wood Pangborn for Harper's Monthly Magazine, published December 1916, page 44.
In "The Return," Peter finds himself alone in the nursery on Christmas Eve, the room stirring nostalgic memories of his daughter Betty's childhood. Betty, now grown and married to Robert, is expected to be celebrating elsewhere in a more luxurious setting. Peter and his wife have returned to their old farmhouse, now cared for by Aunt Harriet. Peter reflects on Betty's upbringing and their move away from the simple farm life. Unexpectedly, Betty and Robert arrive, confessing they longed for the authenticity of the old house. A wave of sentimentality washes over the parents, especially the mother, as they reminisce about Betty's childhood. The story culminates in the family deciding to decorate the Christmas tree that Peter has brought in.
This illustration captures Peter’s wistful imagining of a young Betty "stealing a ride by hanging on to the branches" as he carried the Christmas tree home. This image beautifully evokes her playful childhood spirit, now returning to the heart of their family traditions. The act of decorating the tree becomes a symbol of the family’s reunion and a return to their shared past.
Explore related art collections: Christmas/ Holiday / Magazine Stories / Women Artists / Children / Fatherhood / 1910s / Black & White / $5,000 - $20,000 / Brandywine School
See all original artwork by Elizabeth Shippen Green
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Elizabeth Shippen Green, later Mrs. Huger Elliot, was born in Philadelphia and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with Robert Vonnoh and Thomas Eakins. She also studied with Howard Pyle at the Drexel Institute where she met Jessie Willcox Smith and Violet Oakley. The three became close friends and shared studios for many years.
Although Elizabeth did some early illustrations for The Ladies’ Home Journal and The Saturday Evening Post, as well as a number of books, for many years she was under exclusive contract with Harper’s Monthly. Her sensitive work is also decorative, with rounded edges and hand-hewn lines, similar in concept to that of stained glass windows. In a time when magazines used color very sparingly, a large percentage of her illustration work was reproduced in full color, which she handled brilliantly. Because she worked in a bold outline, her pictures reproduced equally well in color or in black and white.