Charles Dana Gibson
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Charles Dana Gibson (September 14, 1867–December 23, 1944) was an American graphic artist, noted for his creation of the "Gibson Girl", an iconic representation of the beautiful and independent American woman at the turn of the 20th century.
[edit] Biography
He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. A talented youth, he was enrolled by his parents in the Art Students League, Manhattan. He studied there for two years before leaving to find work. Peddling his pen-and-ink sketches, he sold his first work in 1886 to John Ames Mitchell's Life magazine. His works appeared weekly in the magazine for over thirty years. He also quickly built a wider reputation, his works appearing in all the major New York publications, Harper's Weekly, Scribners and Colliers Magazine. His illustrated books include the 1898 editions of Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau. The development of the "Gibson Girl" from 1890 and her nationwide fame made Gibson respected and wealthy.
He married Irene Langhorne, born in Danville, Virginia in 1895, a sister of Nancy Astor, the first woman to serve in as a Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons.[1] The elegant Langhorne sisters, born to a once-wealthy Virginia family devastated by the Civil War, served as the inspiration for the famous 'Gibson girls.'[2][3]
Almost unrestricted merchandising saw his distinctive sketches appear in many forms. He became the editor and eventual owner of Life after the death of Mitchell in 1918. The popularity of the Gibson Girl faded after World War I, and Gibson took to working with oils for his own pleasure. He retired in 1936.
The Gibson Martini is named after him, as he favored ordering gin martinis with a pickled onion garnish in place of the traditional olive or lemon zest. Gibson owned a 700-acre estate in Islesboro, Maine, where he and his wife spent an increasing amount of time through the years.[4]
On his passing in 1944, Charles Dana Gibson was interred with his wife in the same jar at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
 Frontispiece to The Prisoner of Zenda, 1898 |
 Illustration from Rupert of Hentzau, 1898 |
 At the Beach, 1901 |
 Fancy Dress, 1901 |
 Love in a Garden, 1901 |
 The Crush, 1901 |
 Art Lesson, 1901 |
 Money Can Buy, 1901 |
 Stepped On, 1901 |
 Fanned Out, 1914 |
 Studies in Expression: When Women Are Jurors 1902 |
[edit] References
- Gelman, Woody (ed.) (1969). The Best of Charles Dana Gibson. New York: Bounty Books.
- ^ Langhorne House, 117 Broad Street, Danville, Va., virginia.org
- ^ Charles Dana Gibson and his wife at their Islesboro, Maine, home, mainememory.net
- ^ Mrs. Gibson, the original Gibson girl, Maine Memory Network, Maine's Online Museum, mainememory.net
- ^ Charles Dana Gibson at his Islesboro home, vintagemaineimages.com
