Children's books

At the turn of the 20th century, the demand for magazine and book illustrations was at an all time high, and this "golden age" gave women artists some opportunity. Jessie Wilcox Smith, Kate Greenaway and Beatrix Potter were the finest.

Jesse Wilcox Smith
1863-1935

Print magazines are going the way of the dinosaurs, but back then periodicals with long, meaty articles were popular: Harper's, McClure's, and Collier's Weekly to name a few. Jessica Smith was an American artist and a prolific contributor to magazines. She is also well-known for her children's books and sweet covers of Good Housekeeping and Ladies Home Journal.

I like old illustrated children's books. The charming pictures, the classic stories, and of course the "lessons." Books were not just entertainment; there was usually something to learn from boys and girls who were disobedient or rude.

Here's a Smith watercolor called The Land of Counterpane, with a little sick boy who creates an imaginary world on his bed.

And Smith's sweet and spunky Heidi, from the book cover...

Kate Greenaway
1846-1901

Kate Greenaway's idyllic portraits of English childhood were enormously successful in her lifetime. She had a happy childhood, and freedom to explore and daydream. The children in her paintings were all dressed in versions of late eighteenth century fashions like smock-frocks, mobcaps and pinafores. Apparently she had a photographic memory, and these clothes resemble outfits her mother made for her.
In 1955, the Kate Greenaway Medal was established in her honor for illustrators of children's books. She created many illustrations for lesson books and nursery rhymes.

The Pied Piper...

Mary had a little lamb...

And a cold winter walk.

Beatrix Potter
1866-1922

Beatrix Potter is best known for her Tales of Peter Rabbit. She grew up in an isolated, privileged family and was taught by a governess. When she came of age, her parents discouraged any other intellectual development and required her to supervise the household. For many years she recorded her daily life in a secret dairy, using her own code which was not broken until 20 years after her death. She loved nature, and the small animals she smuggled into the house were the inspiration for many of her stories. But did you know she was widely respected in the U.K. as a mycologist? She wrote scientific papers and completed over 270 detailed watercolors of fungi, although as a woman she was not allowed to present at professional conferences.

She was engaged to her publisher, and not surprisingly her parents disapproved of her marrying into the lower class. He died before the wedding could take place, and she never married. She eventually used her inheritance to buy farms, and became engrossed in breeding sheep. All of her property was left to the National Trust-- a great English countryside treasure of 4,000 acres.

Everyone knows Peter Rabbit. He's cute, but here's some rare illustrations Potter did for a story called The Rabbit's Christmas Party:

Arrival of the rabbit guests on a snowy afternoon...there's something wonderful and slightly dark about this.

But after a party of tea and lettuce, a sweet departure.