Book and magazine illustration was historically an environment very populated by women in times in which they weren’t allowed the same room for artistic education, exposure and professional careers as male artists. Even though the Golden Age of illustration brings usually the names of the “fathers” of the artform, many women developed artistic styles that added new significance to storytelling. Still, it’s important to note that the environment was still a place of great privilege and only few women (especially white women with enough means) were able to find sustainable work in the industry in the XIX and early XX century. Some of the women showcased here became historically relevant many years after they passed, having awards named after them, becoming firsts to enter artistic halls of fame, creating networks for employment that outlived them, and being included in “gay-themed history tours” that recognized their lives, among many other legacies.
These are the few artists showcased here: Eleanor Vere Boyle (1825-1916), Josephine Pollard (1834-1892), Kate Greenaway (1846-1901), Alice Bolingbroke Woodward (1862 — 1951), Jessie Wilcox Smith (1863 – 1935), Isobel Lilian Gloag (1865–1917), Helen Stratton (1867-1961), Elizabeth Shippen Green (1871 – 1954), Violet Oakley (1874 – 1961), Anne Anderson (1874 — 1952), Jessie M. King (1875—1949), Elenore Plaisted Abbott (1875–1935), Ruth Mary Hallock (1876-1945), Florence Susan Harrison (1877-1955), Mabel Lucie Attwell (1879-1964), Rie Cramer (1887-1977), Margaret Tarrant (1888-1959), Ida Rentoul Outhwaite (1888—1960), Dorothy P. Lathrop (1891—1980), Cecile Walton (1891—1956), Margaret Tempest (1892-1982), Wanda Gág (1893-1946), Jennie Harbour (1893-1959), Virginia Frances Sterrett (1900—1931), Adrienne Segur (1901-1981), Janet Grahame Johnstone (1928 – 1979) and Anne Grahame Johnstone (1928 – 1998), Trina Schart Hyman (1939-2004) and Kinuko Y. Craft (1940).





















