Illustrator. She attended Quaker Friends Central School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and then high school in Cincinnati, Ohio. After graduation and teaching kindergarten in Ohio, she became interested in art, and returned to Philadelphia, where she sold her first piece of art, a sculpture. In 1884, she began studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Thomas Eakins. In 1889, she started work in the production department of "Ladies Home Journal" for five years, as well as selling her work to "The Saturday Evening Post," "Saint Nicholas Magazine," and fifteen of her illustrations for a book of children's poetry published in 1892. In 1894, she became a charter member of artist Howard Pyle's first class at Drexel Institute. While at Drexel, Smith met the illustrators Violet Oakley and Elizabeth Shippen Green, and they became life-long friends. The three were jointly awarded a commission to do a mural, and in 1900, they began to live and work together at the Red Rose Inn, in Villanova, Pennsylvania, to escape the distractions and intrusions at their studio in Philadelphia. Pyle nicknamed them "The Red Rose Girls." In 1906 "the girls" moved to a new house and studio, Cogslea, in Mount Airy, Pennsylvania. Jessie Smith's art work includes advertising for Proctor and Gamble, designs for Bryn Mawr's calendar, and magazine illustrations for "Harper's Magazine," "The Saturday Evening Post," and "Collier's Weekly." In 1917, she was selected to be the cover artist for "Good Housekeeping", a job she had until 1933. She is best known for her idealized illustrations for children's books, many of which are still in print. They include "The Book of the Child," "Rhymes for Real Children", "A Child's Garden of Verses", "The Water Babies" and the 1915 edition of "Little Women." Smith stopped accepting commissions in 1933, due to failing eyesight and poor health, and passed away in 1935.
Illustrator. She attended Quaker Friends Central School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and then high school in Cincinnati, Ohio. After graduation and teaching kindergarten in Ohio, she became interested in art, and returned to Philadelphia, where she sold her first piece of art, a sculpture. In 1884, she began studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Thomas Eakins. In 1889, she started work in the production department of "Ladies Home Journal" for five years, as well as selling her work to "The Saturday Evening Post," "Saint Nicholas Magazine," and fifteen of her illustrations for a book of children's poetry published in 1892. In 1894, she became a charter member of artist Howard Pyle's first class at Drexel Institute. While at Drexel, Smith met the illustrators Violet Oakley and Elizabeth Shippen Green, and they became life-long friends. The three were jointly awarded a commission to do a mural, and in 1900, they began to live and work together at the Red Rose Inn, in Villanova, Pennsylvania, to escape the distractions and intrusions at their studio in Philadelphia. Pyle nicknamed them "The Red Rose Girls." In 1906 "the girls" moved to a new house and studio, Cogslea, in Mount Airy, Pennsylvania. Jessie Smith's art work includes advertising for Proctor and Gamble, designs for Bryn Mawr's calendar, and magazine illustrations for "Harper's Magazine," "The Saturday Evening Post," and "Collier's Weekly." In 1917, she was selected to be the cover artist for "Good Housekeeping", a job she had until 1933. She is best known for her idealized illustrations for children's books, many of which are still in print. They include "The Book of the Child," "Rhymes for Real Children", "A Child's Garden of Verses", "The Water Babies" and the 1915 edition of "Little Women." Smith stopped accepting commissions in 1933, due to failing eyesight and poor health, and passed away in 1935.
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Bio by: Ginny M
