Gibson Girls
Gibson Girls


1903 The weaker sex



Charles Dana Gibson
(born Sept. 14, 1867, Roxbury, Mass., U.S.
died Dec. 23, 1944, New York, N.Y.)
artist and illustrator, whose Gibson girl drawings delineated the American ideal of femininity at the turn of the century.


1898 LIFE , Charles Dana Gibson


1903 WHITE ROSE No. 4711 GLYCERINE SOAP AD by Gibson

His Gibson girl drawings, modeled after his wife, followed and had an enormous vogue. Gibson's facile pen-and-ink style, characterized by a fastidious refinement of line, was widely imitated and copied. His popularity is attested by the fact that Collier's Weekly paid him $50,000, said at the time to have been the largest amount ever paid to an illustrator, for which Gibson rendered a double-page illustration every week for a year, usually of comic or sentimental situations of the day.

During World War I, Gibson was the President of the Society of Illustrators and the leader of a government agency, which produced posters to promote the war effort. Later, he bought the original Life Company and worked as the magazine’s editor until the 1930’s. After retirement, Gibson spent his time drawing. He died in 1944 in New York City.





1894 The American Girl abroad


1901 "A quiet dinner with Dr. Bottles; after which he reads aloud Miss Babbles latest work."


1901 Embarassing


1911 Social Debts


1901 Message from the Outside World


1901 The Bride's Health


"Some think that she has remained in retirement too long. Others are surprised that she is about so soon."


"The day after arriving at her journey's end."


1911 "Mrs. Diggs is alarmed at discovering what she imagines to be a snare that threatens the safety of her only child. Mr. Diggs does not share his wife's anxiety."


"She Goes Into Colors."


"Miss Babbles brings a copy of a morning paper and expresses her indignation and sympathy over a scurrilous article. Meanwhile other friends are calling upon the editor."








1914 Serious Business


1914 The Parting Wall


1914 Their First Quarrel