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for Jessie Willcox Smith
Jessie Willcox Smith
1863 - 1935
Smith was born in Philadelphia and lived most of her life in the city. She trained to be a kindergarten teacher but found the work too physically demanding. She attended the Philadelphia School of Design for Women and in 1885-1888 attended the PAFA, working under Thomas Eakins and Thomas Anshutz. In 1894, smith enrolled in Howard Pyle's first illustration class at Drexel Institute, which was nearly 50% women. Like fellow illustrators Alice Barber Stephens and Charlotte Harding, Smith had a studio on Chestnute Street with Violet Oakley, Elizabeth Shippen Green, and Henrietta Cozens. The group became known as The Red Rose Girls. She was also a member of The Plastics Club.
Smith worked for Ladies Home Journal, Century Magazine, Colliers, Harper's, Scribner's, and Good Housekeeping. Readership of these periodicals was largely women.
-Cynthia Cormier, Director of Education
April 2020
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