JESSIE WILCOX SMITH, MAGAZINES AND CHILDREN'S BOOKS

By chance, at the age of 20, Jessie Wilcox Smith found out she had a talent for drawing.  In 1889 she started her career as an illustrator in the advertising department of The Ladies Home Journal. She had been a kindergarten teacher prior to that, and it's apparent from her artwork that she idealized mothers and children, even though she never married or had children of her own.

For many, Jessie Wilcox Smith's artwork inspires a sense of nostalgia.  This is possibly because her illustrations appeared on the covers of GOOD HOUSEKEEPING Magazine every month from 1917-1933!  I especially love the covers that feature children reading and being read to...

As far as children's books, she illustrated over 40, including A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES; LITTLE WOMEN; HEIDI; THE JESSE WILCOX SMITH MOTHER GOOSE;'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS; and two of George MacDonald's fantasies: AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND and THE PRINCESS AND THE GOBLIN.  She is probably best known for Charles Kingsley's WATER BABIES.

Click here to see her illustrations of the various fairy tales from this book by Penrhyn W. Coussens.

Click on these Links for more information:
SEE MORE JESSE WILCOX SMITH GOOD HOUSEKEEPING COVERS
SEE JESSIE WILCOX SMITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM OTHER MAGAZINES
ABOUT HER ART STYLE
BIOGRAPHY