Charles Dana Gibson
Charles Dana Gibson was an American artist and illustrator who lived from 1867 until 1944. Gibson is most known for his idealized “Gibson Girl”, the vision of the independent and beautiful women of the new 20th century.
Gibson was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts in the United States in 1867. As a boy, he became interested in art while watching his father cut out silhouettes. At the time, silhouette portraits were a cheaper alternative to traditional portraits. At 8 years old, Gibson started cutting out his own silhouette portraits and by age 12, he was selling them at exhibitions. Gibson’s artistic talent was recognized early on, and his parents sent him to New York’s Art Students League to pursue art. He studied art for one year until financial hardships forced him to abandon his studies and enter the workforce.
Gibson sold his first illustrations to Life magazine; an up and coming publication that had recently formed in 1883. Soon, his illustrations were also published in Collier’s, Scribners, and Harper’s Weekly; all major publications in his day that featured esteemed illustrators such as Howard Pyle.
Gibson’s famous “Gibson Girl” was first drawn in 1890 and was an attempt to create the modern American beauty ideal . After meeting his future wife, Irene Langhorne, in 1892, Irene and her four sisters (Nancy Astor, Nora Phipps, Phyllis Brand, and Elizabeth Perkins), became his main muses and models. The Langhorne sisters, as they were known, had come from a wealthy and prominent Virginia family that had lost their fortunes after the Civil War. Their parents built their wealth back in the railroad business and ensured that their children were well-bred and married well.
Gibson still used models outside of his wife’s family. One of his most famous models was the beautiful actress, Evelyn Nisbit. Nisbit later became involved in a love triangle that ended in murder that led to one of the most famous trials of the early twentieth century. By 1894, he featured his “Gibson Girl” in his first independent portfolio.
In 1898, after such success with the Gibson Girl illustrations, Life magazine paid Gibson for the exclusive rights to any of his new illustrations. They informed their readers that from then on, Gibson’s illustrations would only be published within their magazine. They also offered original proofs of his work for sale to their readers for just $2, writing “These proofs are hand-printed, on Japan paper, mounted ready for framing. They are attractive and artistic decorations for any house and are as suitable presents—holiday, wedding, birthday, or for any occasion—as one can give”.
Gibson illustrated a number of books in the late 1890s including his own travelogue. At the turn of the century, collections of his illustrations were bundled together and sold as books. As an illustrator, Gibson was interested in depicting the social scenes of the day, rather than political ones.
In 1905, during the height of his career, Gibson tried to branch out into portrait works using oil paints. He was a fan of Maxfield Parrish and Frederic Remington and wanted to also make the transition from illustrator to artist. Gibson did this for several years but was not as financially successful with his oil portraits. The financial prospects of continuing his Gibson Girl illustrations were too much that in 1907 he returned to his iconic drawings.
In 1918, after the death of John Mitchell, the owner of Life magazine, Gibson became first the editor, and eventually the owner of the magazine. His illustrations were printed in Life for over 30 years. After World War I, due to the changing social climate and women’s liberation movement, the popularity of the Gibson Girl started to fade. At that point, however, Gibson was very wealthy. He returned to his oil paintings for simple enjoyment. Charles Dana Gibson died in 1944 at 77 years old.
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