The Red Rose Girls

tetleythesecond has some of the most interesting posts, and today her musings about art prompted me to think about women artists, illustration versus "fine art," and my favorite historical era, the American "Progressive Era" (approx. 1890s-1920s).



The result of all this thinking was that I got out one of my favorite books and spent part of the evening rereading the fascinating story of Jessie Willcox Smith, Elizabeth Shippen Green, and Violet Oakley. In the early 20th century, they lived in a communal home, the one-time Red Rose Inn near Philadelphia, and supported themselves through art and illustration (though Green eventually did marry). Their story, complete with wonderful art photos, is told in this book, The Red Rose Girls: An Uncommon Story of Art and Love. It's a tale that raises all sorts of interesting questions about women's friendship and sexuality. I'm of two minds about the book's presentation: on the one hand, I'm very glad that the author addresses the issue of sexuality outright. On the other hand, the question of who was or wasn't sleeping with whom ought not to overshadow the Rose Girls' accomplishments as artists or their accomplishments as women who managed to step outside traditional gender roles, and sometimes it does. But still, do I wish I could have lived with them!

Books with Jessie Willcox Smith illustrations are quite sought-after (and I've sometimes been frustrated when I want a book for its text and have to pay a high price because it has JWS illustrations /g/. But once I part with the money, I'm very glad to have the books, text and pictures both.) Willcox Smith can be too sentimental for my tastes (particularly in her pictures of children), but then, she did illustrate children's books. I can't find on-line copies of some of my favorites of hers (like "Graduation" with its lines of college girls in caps and gowns), but here's one I like as well: girls bringing home Christmas greenery.

Elizabeth Shippen Green I adore for many reasons, one of which is that she drew (in collaboration with JWS) scenes of girls at Bryn Mawr College. Here's a Tumblr for her work. Here's one of my favorite pieces. And this one: The Library (scroll down; the rest of the art on this site is fun, too). And how about Teacher and Student on Horseback!! Love this. Or Girl on a Sailboat (which is not its correct color here -- the original is more like gray and pale orange).

Violet Oakley did a lot of murals in public buildings; beautiful work. It's her gorgeous painting "June" that is on the cover of The Red Rose Girls. I'm hard-pressed to pick a favorite artist among the Rose Girls, but if I did, Violet might be the one.

Here is an good site of representative work of Green and Smith (and a couple of pieces by Oakley).

I'll close by drinking to your health with the Red Rose Girls and their friend Henrietta Cozens, c. 1901.