Fairy Tales, Nursery Rhymes and Magazines: Illustrations by Jessie Willcox Smith is on display through September 16 at Harold Washington Library Center in the Van Buren Corridor on the ground floor.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the majority of American magazine subscribers were women. Publishers hired female artists to create illustrations showing the world from a woman’s perspective, creating unprecedented employment opportunities for women artists.
Among these, Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935) was one of the most celebrated. Her work appeared in magazines like Colliers, Harper’s Bazaar and McClure’s, and graced the covers of every Good Housekeeping from December 1917 through April 1933. Smith was also a famed book illustrator, excelling in interpretations of nursery rhymes, fairy tales and classic children’s books like Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.
