Elizabeth Arden (born Florence Nightingale Graham; December 31, 1881 – October 18, 1966) was a
Canadian-American
Canadian Americans is a term that can be applied to American citizens whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadian, or citizens of either country that hold dual citizenship.
The term ''Canadian'' can mean a nationality or an ethnicity. Canadian ...
businesswoman who founded what is now
Elizabeth Arden, Inc., and built a cosmetics empire in the United States. By 1929, she owned 150 salons in Europe and the United States. Her 1,000 products were being sold in 22 countries. She was the sole owner, and at the peak of her career, she was one of the wealthiest women in the world.
Background
Arden was born on New Year's Eve, 1881, on her family's farm in
Woodbridge,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Canada. The property is currently home to the Vaughan Grove community. Her parents had emigrated to Canada from
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...
, United Kingdom, in the 1870s. Her father, William Graham, was
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
, and her mother, Susan (Tadd), was
Cornish and had arranged for a wealthy aunt in Cornwall to pay for her children's education. Arden dropped out of
nursing school in Toronto.
She then joined her elder brother in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
, working briefly as a
bookkeeper for the
E. R. Squibb Pharmaceuticals Company. While there, Arden spent hours in their lab, learning about
skincare. She then worked—again briefly—for Eleanor Adair, an early beauty culturist, as a "treatment girl".
In her salons and through her marketing campaigns, Elizabeth Arden stressed teaching women how to apply makeup and pioneered such concepts as scientific formulation of cosmetics, beauty makeovers, and coordinating colors of eye, lip and facial makeup.
Elizabeth Arden was largely responsible for establishing makeup as proper and appropriate, even necessary, for a ladylike image, when before makeup had often been associated with lower classes and prostitutes. She targeted middle age and plain women for whom beauty products promised a youthful, beautiful image.
Arden was allegedly a dedicated
suffragette
A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
, and there is a story that she marched for
women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countr ...
in 1912. It is a popular fiction that she supplied the marchers with red lipstick as a sign of solidarity,
but there is little contemporary evidence supporting this. Women taking part in the 1912 march were advised to wear the same $7 straw hat, wear white, and to bring their children, to demonstrate their responsibility and simplicity. The use of cosmetics was never mentioned, which is hardly surprising: bold red lipstick still had tawdry associations with the theatre. Even as late as 1920 Arden herself was dismissive of "powder and rouge..so obvious in their artifice that their use was considered in questionable taste".
Career
In 1909, Arden formed a partnership with Elizabeth Hubbard, another culturist. The business relationship dissolved in 1910. Graham, who desired a
trade name
A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name ...
, used "Elizabeth" to save money on her salon signs. She chose the last name, "Arden", from a nearby farm. So the trade name "Elizabeth Arden" was formed.
[ From there, Arden founded, in 1910, the ''Red Door'' salon in New York, which has remained synonymous with her name ever since (see under Elizabeth Arden, Inc.).
In 1912, Arden traveled to France to learn beauty and facial ]massage
Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In E ...
techniques used in the Paris beauty salon
A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment dealing with cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, and medical spas.
Beauty treatments
Massage for the body is ...
s. She returned with a collection of rouges and tinted powders she had created. She began expanding her international operations in 1915 and started opening salons across the world. In 1934, she opened the Maine Chance residential spa in Rome, Maine, the first destination beauty spa in the United States. It operated until 1970.
In 1962, the French government awarded Arden the Légion d'Honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
, in recognition of her contribution to the cosmetics industry.
Horse racing
Elizabeth Arden was involved in the sport of Thoroughbred racing
Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...
for many years. Her stable, Maine Chance Farm (named for her spa), owned--among other stakes winners--the 1947 Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...
winner Jet Pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they ar ...
.
Death
Arden died at Lenox Hill Hospital
Lenox Hill Hospital (LHH) is a nationally ranked 450-bed non-profit, tertiary, research and academic medical center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, servicing the tri-state area. LHH is one of the region's many univ ...
in Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
on October 18, 1966. She was interred in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York
Sleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States. The village is located on the east bank of the Hudson River, about north of New York City, and is served by the Philipse Manor stop on ...
, under the name Elizabeth N. Graham.
In popular culture
The musical ''War Paint War paint is paint ritually applied to the face and/or body prior to going into a battle.
War Paint or Warpaint may also refer to:
Music
* Warpaint (band), an American indie rock band from Los Angeles
** ''Warpaint'' (Warpaint album), 2014 album b ...
'' dramatizes her rivalry with competitor Helena Rubinstein
Helena Rubinstein (born Chaja Rubinstein; December 25, 1870 – April 1, 1965) was a Polish and American businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist. A cosmetics entrepreneur, she was the founder and eponym of Helena Rubinstein Incorpora ...
. After a successful tryout at Chicago's Goodman Theater, the show opened on Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre on April 6, 2017, earning four Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
nominations, including Best Actress in a Leading Role for Christine Ebersole's portrayal of Arden as well as for Patti Lupone for her role as rival, Rubinstein. and closed on November 5, 2017.
The comedy ''Lip Service'' by the Australian dramatist John Misto
John Misto (born 13 October 1952) is an Australian playwright and screenwriter. He graduated with an Arts/Law degree from the University of New South Wales, and then practised as a lawyer before changing his career to concentrate on working as a ...
chronicles the life and career of Helena Rubinstein
Helena Rubinstein (born Chaja Rubinstein; December 25, 1870 – April 1, 1965) was a Polish and American businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist. A cosmetics entrepreneur, she was the founder and eponym of Helena Rubinstein Incorpora ...
and her rivalry with Elizabeth Arden and Revlon
Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brot ...
. ''Lip Service'' premiered April 26, 2017, at the Park Theatre in London, under the title ''Madame Rubinstein'', before opening at Sydney's Ensemble Theatre in August of the same year.
Elizabeth Arden, as student nurse Florence Nightingale Graham, appeared in the Season 12 Episode 2 of the CBC period drama ''Murdoch Mysteries
''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick ...
'', (premiered on October 1, 2018), portrayed by Kathryn Alexandre.
A contract dispute that Arden faced with a former employee led the 1953 court cause ''Crabtree v. Elizabeth Arden Sales Corp'', which is now considered a seminal case on the application of the statute of frauds. Most law schools include this case in their required contract law
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to ...
course.
References
General references
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Further reading
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External links
Elizabeth Arden
at Elizabeth Arden, Inc.
Elizabeth Arden
at Elizabeth Arden, Inc. corporate
*
FBI dossier on Elizabeth Arden
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arden, Elizabeth
1881 births
1966 deaths
American cosmetics businesspeople
American people of Cornish descent
American people of English descent
American people of Scottish descent
American racehorse owners and breeders
American women in business
Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
Businesspeople from Ontario
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees
Canadian people of Cornish descent
Canadian people of English descent
Canadian people of Scottish descent
Cosmetics people
History of cosmetics
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
People from Vaughan