Jessie Willcox Smith
Jessie Willcox Smith was one of the most prominent female illustrators in the United States during the Golden Age of American illustration. She was a prolific contributor to respected books and magazines during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She illustrated stories and articles for clients such as Century, Colliers, Leslies Weekly, Harpers, McClures, Scribners, and the Ladies Home Journal. She had an ongoing relationship with Good Housekeeping, including the longrunning Mother Goose series of illustrations and creating all the covers from 1915 to 1933. Among the more than 60 books that Smith illustrated were Louisa May Alcotts Little Women and An OldFashioned Girl, Henry Wadsworth Longfellows Evangeline, and Robert Louis Stevensons A Childs Garden of Verses.
Jessie Willcox Smith was born in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the youngest girl born to Charles Henry Smith, an investment broker, and Katherine DeWitt Willcox Smith. Jessie attended private elementary schools and at the age of sixteen she was sent to Cincinnati, Ohio to live with her cousins and finish her education. She trained to be a teacher and taught kindergarten in 1883, but found that the physical demands of working with children were too strenuous for her Due to back problems, she had difficulty bending down to their level. Persuaded to attend one of her friend or cousins art classes, Smith realized she had a talent for drawing.
Source: Wikipedia