Ladies Home Journal

Date1905

MediumPaper

Dimensions7 1/2 × 9 1/2 in. (19.1 × 24.1 cm) Other (Image): 15 1/2 × 7 7/16 in. (39.4 × 18.9 cm)

ClassificationsPrints and Printing Plates

Credit LineGift of Mary Barton. In the Farm House Museum Collection, Farm House Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object number75.10.5

Status

On view

Collections

Works of Art on Paper & Photography

CultureAmerican

Label TextFamed American illustrator Charles Dana Gibson created the “Gibson Girl” in the 1890s. Gibson designed her to embody the spirit of the “New Woman,” and she quickly became a cultural icon during a period of social transformation in the United States. Through his illustrations, Gibson promoted a vision of modern femininity that encouraged young women to pursue higher education, romantic agency, physical health, and personal independence. Combining elegance and confidence, the “Gibson Girl” gained popularity alongside the growing visibility of women in American society. She not only captured the aspirations of a generation of young women but also paved the way for more radical feminist movements in the 20th century. Returning from studying in Paris in 1895, Charles Gilbert settled in New York where he embarked on an active career as an illustrator of books, magazines, posters and calendars like Armour’s. Like Gibson, Gilbert’s illustrations were frequently published in Scribner’s, Harper’s, Atlantic Monthly and other leading magazines. Harrison Fisher was born in Brooklyn, New York City and began to draw at an early age. Both his father and his grandfather were artists. Fisher spent much of his youth in San Francisco, and studied at the San Francisco Art Association. In 1898, he moved back to New York and began his career as a newspaper and magazine illustrator. He became known particularly for his drawings of women, his “American Girl,” which won him acclaim as the successor of Charles Dana Gibson. https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/gibson-girls-america/overview.html https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/harrison-fisher

Locations