Artist Forty-Two: Jessie Willcox Smith

Why this Artist?
    I have decided to make Jessie Willcox Smith one of my artists for two main reasons.  The reason I have picked her is because she was one of the most prominent female illustrators in the United States during the Golden Age of American illustration which is something I admire a lot.  The second reason is because I do a lot of illustrating so looking at different artists that do illustration can only help me in my own works. 

There have been countless books illustrated by Smith, but here are some of the ones that I like:

Little Drops of Water by Jessie Willcox Smith

Books in Winter by Jessie Willcox Smith

Then The Epicure by Jessie Willcox Smith

Who is this Artist?
    Smith was born in 1863 and died in 1935.  During her lifetime, Smith was one of the most prominent female illustrators (During the Golden Age of American Illustration) and created images for many respected books and magazines.  Smith graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and also attended classes at Drexel University.  Smith's illustrations were so popular that The Hall of Fame of the Society of Illustrators (which has inducted only 10 women since 1958) added her as their second female member.  Smith's works today can be seen in many different locations, she bequeathed her original work to the Library of Congress and the Cabinet of American Illustration collection, she also has some works in private collections and of course in the countless number of books and magazines she illustrated for. 

What does she do? 
    Smith illustrated for many magazines and books.  Most of her works were primarily focused on children or motherly love and sometimes she would even use real children to model for her works.  Smith used many mediums for her art including oil, pastels, charcoal and sometimes different mixtures of all the above.  Smith's style started as dark lined borders and brightly colored objects but transitioned into softened lines and colors, however, the look of her figures stayed pretty constant across her career. 

Why she inspires me?
    Other than being a female artist that broke through a man dominated field during her time, Smith is an inspiration to me and my work because she was an illustrator and was able to make changed in her works without completely disowning her own style.  Even though her works got softer later on, it is still clear which works are hers.  Someday, in my own career, I hope to create a style for myself like Smith and I am sure her works will help me with that somewhere down the line. 

Here are some of Smith's book illustrations for well-known stories that I really loved, you can see more at: http://www.americanillustration.org/artists/smith/smith.html

Little Red Riding Hood by Jessie Willcox Smith

Heidi by Jessie Willcox Smith

Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jessie Willcox Smith