Charles Dana Gibson
(1867-1944)
Charles Dana Gibson was born in Roxbury, MA in 1867. Through family connections, at fourteen years of age Charles was apprentice to sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. After a year of apprenticeship, he leaves Saint-Gaudens and takes up pen and ink.
He attends the Arts Students League in Manhattan for two years, and in 1885 at the age of eighteen he leaves school to begin his career. In 1886, he sells his first drawing to the editor of Life Magazine.
Gibson made a specialty of drawing society scenes. His drawings always contained humor and insight about the world around him. Life magazine published much of Gibson's work. Gibson’s value to Life Magazine became essential to both publisher and illustrator; for his work sold magazines. At the same time, he also sold illustrations to Tid Bits, which was later re-named Times Magazine. By 1890, Gibson was illustrating articles for Scribner’s Magazine, Century, and Harper’s Magazine.
Women's roles were changing dramatically in the 1900s. Previously, women had been regarded as the weaker sex, unable to fend for themselves, dependent upon men for protection, supervision, and financial support. But sports and the emergence of possible employment were beginning to change those traditional social constructs. The new women needed fashions that would enable them to be more active. Between 1890 and 1910 styles became simpler and more practical. Skirts were long and flared, and dresses were tailored with high necks and close-fitting sleeves. The style was considered masculine, and this was sometimes emphasized by wearing a necktie.
Though women still wore the restrictive undergarments known as corsets, a new health corset came into style that was said to be better for the spine than earlier corsets. An S-shaped figure became trendy, with a large bust and large hips, separated by a tiny, corseted waist. These styles, worn with confidence and poise by modern women, caught the eye of artist Charles Dana Gibson, who used his art to share his observations with his audience. In a series called "The Weaker Sex," for example, Gibson turned the title into a satirical comment, as the women he drew were clearly in charge of the situations in which they were portrayed.
Despite the popularization of this one aspect of his work, “The Gibson Girl,” Gibson was never considered a fashion illustrator, but a social commentator. From 1900 through 1910, Gibson enjoyed great success; “The Gibson Girl” had a real influence on the fashions of the time, as the illustrations were widely published and imitated. As his popularity grew, the familiar images were soon showing up on wallpaper and matchboxes, Royal Doulton china and Rookwood Pottery. In 1904 The Delineator offered a catalogue of Gibson designs for wood and leather burning and the work of other illustrators showed definite similarity to his style. Gibson's image of American womanhood came to symbolize the first decade of the twentieth century and is still relevant at the start of the twenty-first century.
In 1920, Gibson became the owner and editor of Life Magazine; in 1932, he sold it. Gibson retired at the age of sixty-five and finally took up oil painting and ventured into portraits, his long last desire. The American Academy of Arts and Letters exhibited his paintings.
Charles Dana Gibson died of a heart attack in 1944.
