Charles Dana Gibson (September 14, 1867 – December 23, 1944) was an American illustrator. He was best known for his creation of the

Gibson Girl The Gibson Girl was the personification of the feminine ideal of physical attractiveness as portrayed by the pen-and-ink illustrations of artist Charles Dana Gibson during a 20-year period that spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries in th ...

, an iconic representation of the beautiful and independent Euro-American woman at the turn of the 20th century. His wife, Irene Langhorne, and her four sisters inspired his images. He published his illustrations in ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazine and other major national publications for more than 30 years, becoming editor in 1918 and later owner of the general interest magazine.

Early life

Gibson was born in

Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for n ...

on September 14, 1867. He was a son of Josephine Elizabeth (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Lovett) and Charles DeWolf Gibson. He had five siblings and was a descendant of U.S. Senators

James DeWolf James DeWolf (March 18, 1764December 21, 1837) was a slave trader, a privateer during the War of 1812, and a state and national politician. He served as a state legislator for a total of nearly 25 years, and in the 1820s as a United States senat ...

and William Bradford. A talented youth with an early interest in art, Gibson was enrolled by his parents in New York City's

Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school at American Fine Arts Society, 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists ...

, where he studied for two years.

Career

Peddling his pen-and-ink sketches, Gibson sold his first work in 1886 to ''

'' magazine, founded by

John Ames Mitchell John Ames Mitchell (January 17, 1845 – June 29, 1918) was an American publisher, architect, artist and novelist. He was co-founder, editor, and publisher of the original ''Life'' magazine, in which he was a contributing artist, and the au ...

and Andrew Miller. It featured general interest articles, humor, illustrations, and cartoons. His works appeared weekly in the popular national magazine for more than 30 years. He quickly built a wider reputation, with his drawings being featured in all the major New York publications, including ''

Harper's Weekly ''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor, ...

'', ''

Scribners Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

'' and ''

Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collie ...

''. His illustrated books include the 1898 editions of

Anthony Hope Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins, better known as Anthony Hope (9 February 1863 – 8 July 1933), was a British novelist and playwright. He was a prolific writer, especially of adventure novels but he is remembered predominantly for only two books: ''Th ...

's ''

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in orde ...

'' and its sequel ''

Rupert of Hentzau ''Rupert of Hentzau'' is a sequel by Anthony Hope to ''The Prisoner of Zenda'', written in 1895 but not published in book form until 1898. The novel was serialized in '' The Pall Mall Magazine'' and '' McClure's Magazine'' from December 1897 t ...

'' as well as

Richard Harding Davis Richard Harding Davis (April 18, 1864 – April 11, 1916) was an American journalist and writer of fiction and drama, known foremost as the first American war correspondent to cover the Spanish–American War, the Second Boer War, and the First ...

' ''

Gallegher and Other Stories Gallegher is the title of a story by American author Richard Harding Davis that was published in 1891. The character Gallegher is a copy boy at a newspaper who goes on investigative adventures. In 1917, Thomas A. Edison, Inc.'s Conquest Pictures ...

''. His wife and her elegant Langhorne sisters also inspired his famous Gibson Girls, who became iconic images in early 20th-century society. Their dynamic and resourceful father

Chiswell Langhorne Colonel Chiswell Dabney Langhorne (November 4, 1843 – February 14, 1919) was an American railroad industrialist. He was the father of Nancy Witcher Langhorne and the maternal grandfather of both Joyce Grenfell and Michael Langhorne Astor. Ear ...

had his wealth severely reduced by the Civil War, but by the late 19th century, he had rebuilt his fortune on tobacco auctioneering and the railroad industry. After the death of John Ames Mitchell in 1918, Gibson became editor of ''Life'' and later took over as owner of the magazine. As the popularity of the Gibson Girl faded after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Gibson took to working in oils for his own pleasure. In 1918, he was elected into the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1932. He retired in 1936, the same year Scribner's published his biography, ''Portrait of an Era as Drawn by C. D. Gibson: A Biography'' by Fairfax Downey. At the time of his death in 1944, he was considered "the most celebrated pen-and-ink artist of his time as well as a painter applauded by the critics of his later work."

Personal life

On November 7, 1895, Gibson was married to Irene Langhorne (1873–1956), a daughter of railroad industrialist

. Irene was born in

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activity ...

, and was one of five sisters, all noted for their beauty, including

Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor, (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor's first husband was America ...

, the first woman to serve as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) in the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 me ...

. Together, Irene and Charles were the parents of two children: * Irene Langhorne Gibson (1897–1973), who married George Browne Post III (1890–1952), a grandson of architect George B. Post, in 1916. They divorced and she married real estate developer

John Josiah Emery John Josiah Emery Jr. (January 28, 1898 — September 24, 1976) was an American real estate developer. He was the developer of the Carew Tower (1931) in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the time the tallest building west of the Alleghenies, and the Netherland ...

(1898–1976) in 1926. * Langhorne Gibson (1899–1982), who married Marion Taylor (1902–1960) in 1922. He later married Parthenia Burke Ross (1911–1998) in 1936. For part of his career, Gibson lived in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

, a popular

art colony An art colony, also known as an artists' colony, can be defined two ways. Its most liberal description refers to the organic congregation of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, often drawn by areas of natural beauty, the prior existence o ...

among actors, writers and artists of the period. The community was most well known for its unprecedented number of prominent American illustrators. Gibson also owned an island off

Islesboro, Maine Islesboro is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States, comprising Islesboro Island and several smaller islands. The population was 583 at the 2020 census. It has a summer colony accessible by state ferry service from Lincolnville Beach th ...

which came to be known as 700 Acre Island; he and his wife spent an increasing amount of time here through the years.Charles Dana Gibson at his Islesboro home, vintagemaineimages.com
Gibson died of a

heart ailment Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, ...

in 1944, aged 77, at 127 East 73rd Street, his home in New York City. After a private funeral service at the Gibson home in New York, he was interred at

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

. His widow died at her home in Greenwood, Virginia in April 1956 at the age of 83.

Legacy

Almost unrestricted merchandising saw his distinctive sketches appear in many forms. The

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

cocktail has been claimed to be named after him, as it is said he favored ordering gin martinis with a pickled onion garnish in place of the traditional olive or

lemon zest Zest is a food ingredient that is prepared by scraping or cutting from the rind of unwaxed citrus fruits such as lemon, orange, citron, and lime. Zest is used to add flavor to foods. In terms of fruit anatomy, the zest is obtained from the fl ...

Work

File:Zenda1 Gibson.jpg, Frontispiece to ''The Prisoner of Zenda'', 1898 File:Hentzau Gibson.jpg, Illustration from ''Rupert of Hentzau'', 1898 File:At the Beach, Gibson.jpg, ''At the Beach'', 1901 File:Fancy Dress, Gibson.jpg, ''Fancy Dress'', 1901 File:Love in a Garden, Gibson.jpg, ''Love in a Garden'', 1901 File:The Crush, Gibson.jpg, ''The Crush'', 1901 File:Art Lesson, Charles Dana Gibson.jpg, ''Art Lesson'', 1901 File:Everything in the World That Money Can Buy, Gibson.jpg, ''Everything in the World That Money Can Buy'', 1901 File:Stepped On, Gibson.jpg, ''Stepped On'', 1901 File:Fanned Out, Charles Dana Gibson.jpg, ''Fanned Out'', 1914 File:Charles Dana Gibson (1902) Studies in expression. When women are jurors (compressed).jpg, ''Studies in Expression: When Women Are Jurors'', 1902 File:LIFEMagazine26Mar1925.jpg, March 26, 1925 ''Life'' cover by Gibson

Citations

General and cited sources

* * * * * *

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Charles Dana 1867 births 1944 deaths 19th-century American artists American cartoonists American illustrators Art Students League of New York alumni Artists from New Rochelle, New York Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery DeWolf family Members of the Salmagundi Club People from Islesboro, Maine People from Roxbury, Boston Pin-up artists Presidents of the Society of Illustrators Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters