Grace Drayton (née Gebbie, also known as Grace Wiederseim; October 14, 1878 – January 31, 1936) was an

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

of children's books, fashion pages, and magazine covers. She created the Campbell Soup Kids. She is considered to be one of the first and most successful American female cartoonists.

Biography

Drayton was born Grace Gebbie in 1878 in Philadelphia. Her father, George Gebbie, was an art publisher. Drayton attended Drexel Institute (now

Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

) and the

Philadelphia School of Design for Women Philadelphia School of Design for Women (1848–1932) was an art school for women in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Housed in the former Edwin Forrest House at 1346 North Broad Street, under the directorship of Emily Sartain (1886–1920), ...

(PSDW). While at PSDW, she was a student of the American artist and teacher

Robert Henri Robert Henri (; June 24, 1865 – July 12, 1929) was an American painter and teacher. As a young man, he studied in Paris, where he identified strongly with the Impressionists, and determined to lead an even more dramatic revolt against A ...

during 1893 and 1894. Drayton began her career as a freelance artist in 1895. From 1905 to 1909, she was a member of

The Plastic Club The Plastic Club is an arts organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1897 for women only, the Plastic Club is one of the oldest art clubs in the United States. It is located on the 200 block of Camac Street, the "Little Street ...

, an arts organization in Philadelphia. She created the Campbell Soup Kids which was used in advertisements for

Campbell's Soup Campbell Soup Company, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has grown to become ...

beginning in 1904. The Campbell Soup Kids and Drayton's other children characters were drawn in a cute cherubic style often with round faces, plump bodies, and rosy cheeks. With her sister

Margaret G. Hays Margaret G. Hays (née Margaret Parker Gebbie; July 3, 1874 – September 13, 1925) was an American illustrator, cartoonist, and children's author. Biography Hays was born Margaret Parker on July 3, 1874, to George, an art publisher, and Mary J ...

(1874-1925) as writer, Drayton produced ''The Adventures of Dolly Drake and Bobby Blake in Storyland'' and ''The Turr’ble Tales of Kaptin Kiddo'' in the period 1905–1909. Drayton designed the popular Dolly Dingle paper dolls, which appeared in the women's magazine ''

Pictorial Review The ''Pictorial Review'' was an American women's magazine published from 1899 to 1939. Based in New York, the ''Pictorial Review'' was first published in September 1899. The magazine was originally designed to showcase dress patterns of German i ...

''. She also created syndicated newspaper

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

for Hearst/

King Features King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial c ...

such as ''Naughty Toodles'', ''Dottie Dimple'', ''Dimples'', '' ''Dolly Dimples and Bobby Bounce'''', and ''The Pussycat Princess.'' Drayton was the first woman to be a cartoonist for Hearst. ''The Pussycat Princess'' was started in 1935. After Drayton's death in 1936, the strip was continued by Ruth Carroll and Ed Anthony.

Personal life

In 1900 she married Theodore Wiederseim. In 1911, she divorced Wiederseim and married William Drayton, and started signing her work as Grace Drayton. She divorced Drayton in 1923. Grace Drayton died in 1936 and is buried at the Holy Cross Cemetery in

Yeadon, Pennsylvania Yeadon is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It borders the city of Philadelphia. The population was 11,443 at the 2010 census. Geography Yeadon is located in eastern Delaware County at (39.932862, -75.251540). It is bordered on the sou ...

Legacy

The Campbell Soup Kids were an iconic staple of Campbell's Soup advertising strategy for decades. The Campbell Soup Kids drawings and memorabilia remain popular with antique collectors. It is possible that Drayton's work had some influence on Japanese

Shōjo manga is an editorial category of Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent females and young adult women. It is, along with manga (targeting adolescent boys), manga (targeting young adult and adult men), and manga (targeting adul ...

in the late 1930s. Drayton's Dolly Dingle dolls are part of the Joseph Downs Collection at the

Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library is an American estate and museum in Winterthur, Delaware. Pronounced “winter-tour," Winterthur houses one of the richest collections of Americana in the United States. The museum and estate were the home of ...

. Some of her work is also part of the collection at

The Cartoon Museum ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Comic strips

as Grace G. Wiederseim: * ''Toodles'' / ''Naughty Toodles'' / ''The Strange Adventures of Pussy Pumpkin And Her Chum Toodles!'' (Hearst, March 22, 1903–January 10, 1904) * ''The Adventures of Dolly Drake and Bobby Blake in Storyland'' (''

The Philadelphia Press ''The Philadelphia Press'' (or ''The Press'') is a defunct newspaper that was published from August 1, 1857, to October 1, 1920. The paper was founded by John Weiss Forney. Charles Emory Smith was editor and owned a stake in the paper from 1880 un ...

'', 1905–1906) — written by Margaret G. HaysJohn William Leonard, Albert Nelson Marquis, editors. ''Who's Who in America, Volume 6'' (Marquis Who's Who, 1910)
p. 2078
* ''The Turr’ble Tales of Kaptain Kiddo'' (Philadelphia North American Company, 1909) — written by Margaret G. HaysRobbins, Trina. ''Pretty in Ink: North American Women Cartoonists 1896–2010'' (Fantagraphics Books, 2013), pp. 18-21. * ''Dottie Dimple'' (Hearst, 1908–1911) as Grace Drayton: * ''Dimples'' (Hearst, January 1914–1918) * '' Dolly Dimples and Bobby Bounce'' (King Features, 1928–Spring 1933) — with topper strip ''Kittens'' * ''The Pussycat Princess'' (King Features, 1935–1947) — written by Ed Anthony; art continued by Ruth Carroll after Drayton's 1936 death

Sources

External links

*McGrath, W.E. (2006)
Grace Drayton, a Children's Illustrator Who also Painted Young Women -- A Biographical Sketch

"Grace Gebbie Drayton (Wiederseim),"
with many images, at D.B. Dowd Studio Notes

with many images, at Vintage Valentine Museum
Grace Drayton UFDC Museum Exhibit
* WorldCat searc
Grace DraytonWiederseim
(evidently not redundant as of September 2016, when her works seem to be the only hits for 'Wiederseim') * (see also 'Wiederseim' and 'Grace Gebbie' searches) {{DEFAULTSORT:Drayton, Grace 1878 births 1936 deaths American women painters American women illustrators American comic strip cartoonists American female comics artists Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery (Yeadon, Pennsylvania) Female comics writers Artists from Pennsylvania Philadelphia School of Design for Women alumni Drexel University alumni