Dorothy Hope Smith (October 1, 1895 – December 16, 1955) was an American artist and painter, best known as the artist who drew the Gerber Baby.

Early life

Dorothy Hope Smith was born in Hyattsville, Maryland to Lincoln B. and Mary L. Smith. She had 2 sisters, Edith and Clare, of which Dorothy was in the middle. In the early 1910s, Dorothy's family relocated to

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, where she spent her adolescence. Gerber oatmeal

Smith studied illustration at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she met Perry Barlow. They were married February 22, 1922 in Manhattan, New York City, and honeymooned in France. They moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

after they wed to pursue separate illustration careers. Eventually, the couple worked out of their Westport, Connecticut home.

Career

Smith was a commercial illustrator specializing in babies and children. She was one of the "

Ivory Soap Ivory (french: Savon d'Ivoire) is a flagship personal care brand created by the Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), including varieties of white and mildly scented bar soap that became famous for its claim of purity and for floating on water. Over ...

Baby" illustrations for

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

, illustrating children's books for Putnam and several magazine covers. * '' Woman's Home Companion'' (August 1925) * ''Woman's Home Companion'' (September 1934) * ''Parent-Teacher Magazine'' (April 1935) * '' Parent's Magazine'' (June 1936) * ''The Farmer's Wife Magazine'' (December 1936)

Gerber baby

Smith's famous Gerber Baby drawing came about through a contest. In 1928, Gerber invited artists to submit drawings of babies for a contest. Dorothy submitted a preliminary charcoal sketch. The sketch was created from a snapshot of Ann Turner, the child of a family friend. Dorothy's unfinished submission was intended more as an inquiry as to what the age of the baby should be and what the ad size would be. Dorothy intended to finish the sketch if accepted. The Gerber Company judges, however, preferred the simplicity of the illustration when compared to other more elaborate entries. Smith won $300 in the contest, selling the rights of her drawing to Gerber. Due to its popularity, Gerber officially trademarked the drawing in 1931. Smith worked regularly from the 1920s until her death in 1955, serving as a successful commercial illustrator for many products.

Personal life

Smith's husband, Perry Barlow, whom she married on February 22, 1922, was a cartoonist for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' magazine, drawing 135 covers over the years in addition to many cartoons. He also contributed work to ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'' and others. Because Perry was partially

colorblind Color blindness or color vision deficiency (CVD) is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color. It can impair tasks such as selecting ripe fruit, choosing clothing, and reading traffic lights. Color blindness may make some aca ...

, Smith helped with the color process of his work. Smith and Perry had two sons, Collins and Peter. Peter's child is Smith's only granddaughter. Dorrie carries her namesake, Dorothy "Dorrie" Barlow Thomas. After Dorothy's death in 1955, their son Peter continued the color treatments to Perry's work.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Dorothy Hope School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni American magazine illustrators 1895 births 1955 deaths Artists from Maryland People from Hyattsville, Maryland 20th-century American women artists