Virginia Frances Sterrett
Virginia Frances Sterrett was an American artist and illustrator who lived from 1900 to 1931. She came to prominence for her art nouveau styled fairy tale illustrations. Her art is known for its delicate lines and tender, fanciful imagery. Her work is reminiscent of childhood daydreams, depicting far off magical lands one can only dream of.
Sterrett was born in Chicago. Her father died when she was a toddler, and she, her sister, and her mother moved to Missouri to be with her mother’s family. Sterrett drew from an early age, with some reports stating as early two years old! She would spend her free time daydreaming and drawing rather than socializing with peers.
As a teenager, Sterrett won several awards for her drawings at the Kansas State Fair. Her work was brought to the attention of the Art Institute of Chicago, who awarded her a full scholarship if she would enter their institution after high school, which she did. Sterrett attended art school for one year. In the beginning of the second year, her mother became very ill, so Virginia dropped out of school to support her family.
At 19 years old, Sterrett was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Her health declined and she went to live at a sanitarium where she was essentially bedridden. A friend of hers brought some of her illustrations to the Chicago Book Fair, which landed Virginia a job for Penn Publishing Company. They commissioned her to create illustrations for a 1920 publication of Old French Fairy Tales by Sophie Rostopchine, Countess of Ségur. The book was to be a large format illustrated book with simple stories meant as gifts for children. Penn allowed Sterrett to illustrate whatever passages she chose, giving her immense artistic freedom. She made the illustrations from her bed in the sanitarium and the money helped sustain her family.
After the success Old French Fairy Tales, Penn Publishing Company commissioned a second book from Sterrett. They commissioned her to illustrate a 1921 publication of Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne, which retold ancient Greek myths.
In 1923, Sterrett’s health rapidly declined, so she and her family moved to Altdena in Southern California in an effort to improve her health. This briefly seemed to work, and she continued to work, illustrating from the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Unfortunately, Sterrett soon became ill and again moved into a sanitarium. She continued to work but could only work for short periods of time and so completed only one more commission, also for Penn Publishing Company. In 1928, her illustrations were included in their Arabian Nights publication. This was a huge success for Sterrett, who is most remembered for her illustrations from this publication.
In 1930, Sterrett accepted her last commission, Myths and Legends. Unfortunately, she died before she was able to finish the project.
Virgina Frances Sterrett died in 1931, succumbing to the tuberculosis she lived with for 11 years. She was just 30.
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