Mary Ellen Sigsbee (1876–1960) was an American artist and magazine illustrator.

Early life

Sigsby was born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, on February 26, 1876, one of four daughters of Charles D. Sigsbee, captain of the USS ''Maine'' during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

Career

Sigsbee studied at the Arts Students League. One of her paintings was exhibited at the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

in 1908 - a feat achieved by few American women. A

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and suffragist, Sisgbee designed posters for the

American Woman Suffrage Association The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) was a single-issue national organization formed in 1869 to work for women's suffrage in the United States. The AWSA lobbied state governments to enact laws granting or expanding women's right to vote ...

. One of which, ''What breaks up the home? What will save the home? Votes for Women'' (circa 1917), is in the privately held Ann Lewis Women's Suffrage Collection. From 1909 to 1917, and from 1930 to 1932, she made illustrations for the '' Evening Journal''. Her painting ''The Christmas Peek'' was used as the Christmas 1934 cover of 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 ...

''. She also produced work for ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

''. A copy of her print ''The New Hand'' is in the National Child Labor Committee Collection of the United States

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Personal life

Sigsbee was married twice. Her first marriage was to

William Balfour Ker William Balfour Ker (July 25, 1877 – October 20, 1918) also known simply as Balfour Ker, and sometimes written Balfour-Ker was a Canadian-American artist whose paintings appeared in popular magazines such as ''Life'' and ''The Delineator,'' an ...

, a fellow artist and socialist. The marriage was conducted against her father's wishes, after an 1898 elopement. They first lived in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, but after a period working in Paris, the marriage failed and they divorced in 1910. They had a son, David (1906–1922). In 1912 she married the magazine illustrator

Anton Otto Fischer Anton Otto Fischer (February 23, 1882 – March 26, 1962) was a German-born American illustrator for the Saturday Evening Post. Background Born in Germany and orphaned at any early age, he ran away at the age of 15 to escape being forced into ...

. They first lived in Bushnellsville, New York before moving to a house near the intersection of Elmendorf Street and Ten Broeck Avenue in nearby

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

(the house still stands). They had a daughter, Katrina Sigsbee Fischer (1914–1998). The family eventually settled into a house off Glasco Turnpike in Woodstock, New York just prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

., September 24, 2011 Sigsbee and both husbands were former students of illustrator Howard Pyle. Her son David was adopted by Fischer. During her marriages she used the names Sigsbee Ker and Sigsbee Fischer. Sigsbee died in 1960, at Woodstock.

References

External links

''Saturday Evening Post'' page
including ''The Christmas Peek'' cover * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sigsbee, Mary Ellen 1876 births 1960 deaths American magazine illustrators 20th-century American painters People from New Orleans American suffragists Feminist artists People from Greenwich Village People from Woodstock, New York American women illustrators Artists from New York (state) Art Students League of New York alumni 20th-century American women artists Burials at Montrepose Cemetery