Charles Dana Gibson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles Dana Gibson (September 14, 1867–December 23, 1944) was an American graphic artist, noted for his creation of one of the first pin-up girls, the "Gibson Girl".
He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. A talented youth, his parents enrolled him in the Art Students League, Manhattan. He studied there for two years before leaving to find work. Peddling his pen-and-ink sketches he sold his first work in 1886 to John Ames Mitchell's Life magazine. His works appeared weekly in the magazine for over thirty years. He also quickly built a wider reputation, his works appearing in all the major New York publications and also Harper's Weekly, Scribners and Colliers Magazine. The development of the "Gibson Girl" from 1890 and her nationwide fame made Gibson respected and wealthy.
He married Irene Langhorne of Virginia in 1895; she was a sister of Nancy Astor, the British politician.
Almost unrestricted merchandising saw his distinctive sketches appear in many forms. He became editor of Life after the death of Mitchell in 1918 and eventually owner. The popularity of the Gibson Girl faded after World War I and Gibson himself moved into working with oils. He retired in 1936.
On his passing in 1944, Charles Dana Gibson was interred with his wife in the same jar Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
[edit] References
- Gelman, Woody (ed.) (1969). The Best of Charles Dana Gibson. New York: Bounty Books.
