William Wallace Denslow (; May 5, 1856 – March 29, 1915), professionally W. W. Denslow, was an American illustrator and caricaturist remembered for his work in collaboration with author

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

, especially his illustrations of ''

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz after s ...

''. Denslow was an editorial cartoonist with a strong interest in politics, which has fueled political interpretations of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''.

Biography

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

to a tobacco wholesaler, Denslow spent brief periods at 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 ...

and the

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

in New York, but was largely self-educated and self-trained. In the 1880s, he traveled about the United States as an artist and newspaper reporter; he came to Chicago for the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in 1893, and chose to stay. Denslow acquired his earliest reputation as a poster artist; he also designed books and bookplates, and was the first artist invited to work at the

Roycroft Press Roycroft was a reformist community of craft workers and artists which formed part of the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States. Elbert Hubbard founded the community in 1895, in the village of East Aurora, New York, near Buffalo. Partici ...

. Denslow may have met Baum at the Chicago Press Club, where both men were members. Besides ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', Denslow also illustrated Baum's books ''

By the Candelabra's Glare ''By the Candelabra's Glare'' is a 1898 collection of poems written by L. Frank Baum. One of his earliest works, the book was significant in Baum's evolution from amateur to professional author. The book Baum's first book, ''Mother Goose in Prose ...

'', '' Father Goose: His Book'', and ''

Dot and Tot of Merryland ''Dot and Tot of Merryland'' is a 1901 novel by L. Frank Baum. After Baum wrote ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', he wrote this story about the adventures of a little girl named Dot and a little boy named Tot in a land reached by floating on a rive ...

''. Baum and Denslow held the copyrights to most of these works jointly. After Denslow quarreled with Baum over royalty shares from the 1902 stage adaptation of ''The Wizard of Oz'', for which Baum wrote the script and Denslow designed the sets and costumes, Baum determined not to work with him again. (As co-copyright-holder, Denslow demanded an equal share in royalties with Baum and composer

Paul Tietjens Paul Tietjens (; May 22, 1877 – November 25, 1943) was an American composer of the early twentieth century. He is best known for composing music for ''The Wizard of Oz (1902 musical), The Wizard of Oz'', the 1902 stage adaptation of L. Frank Bau ...

.) Denslow illustrated an edition of traditional nursery rhymes titled ''Denslow's Mother Goose'' (1901), along with ''Denslow's Night Before Christmas'' (1902) and the 18-volume ''Denslow's Picture Books'' series (1903–04). He also used his copyright to the art of the Baum books to create newspaper comic strips featuring Father Goose and the

Scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley B ...

and

Tin Woodman Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodman, also known as the Tin Man or—mistakenly—the "Tin Woodsman," is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. Baum's Tin Woodman first appeared in his classic 1900 book ''The ...

during the first decade of the twentieth century. The strip, titled ''Denslow's Scarecrow and heTin Man'', was intended to promote a forthcoming sequel he was writing. The strip ran concurrently with ''

Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz ''Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz'' was a newspaper comic strip written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by Walt McDougall, a political cartoonist for the ''Philadelphia North American''. ''Queer Visitors'' appeared in the ''North ...

''. He also created the comic strip ''

Billy Bounce Billy Bounce was a comic strip published erratically by noted illustrator W. W. Denslow (1901–1902) and later C. W. Kahles (1902–1905) between November 10, 1901, and December 3, 1905. The strip centers on the actions of the title character, a ...

'', notable as one of the earliest comic strips in which the protagonist has some manner of super powers. The royalties from the print and stage versions of ''The Wizard of Oz'' were sufficient to allow Denslow to purchase

Bluck's Island, Bermuda Bluck's Island (formerly Denslow sIsland, Dyer sIsland) is an island of Bermuda. It lies in the harbor of Hamilton in Warwick Parish. Previously known as Dyer's island, it was once owned by the Dyer family in the 19th century. Originally owned b ...

, and crown himself King Denslow I. Denslow wrote and illustrated a children's book called ''The Pearl and the Pumpkin''.

Personal life

Denslow had three wives and three divorces in his lifetime. His first wife, Annie McCartney (née, Anna M. Lowe, 1856–1908) married him in 1882 and gave birth to his only child, a son, the following year. The couple were already separated, however, and Denslow never saw his son. They finally divorced in 1896, freeing her to marry the man she lived with for five months. That same day, February 20, 1896, Denslow married Anne Holden Denslow, the daughter of Martha Holden, writer. The marriage did not last long either. Anne filed for divorce in September 1903, alleging that he told her in June 1901 that he did not love her and henceforth declined to live with her. In less than a month she married a young artist, their friend, Lawrence Mazzanovich, and left with him for Paris. Denslow then married his third wife, Mrs. Frances G. Doolittle December 24. Frances left him in 1906 and they finally divorced in 1911. He changed his will in 1914, leaving his estate to a fourth woman.

Death

Denslow died on March 29, 1915, in the

Knickerbocker Hospital The Knickerbocker Hospital was a 228-bed hospital in New York City located at 70 Convent Avenue, corner of West 131st Street in Harlem, serving primarily poor and immigrant patients. History Founded in 1862 as the Manhattan Dispensary, it ser ...

, New York City of pneumonia following an alcoholic bender with $250 () obtained from the sale of a cover to ''

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 ...

''. The cover appeared on the July 1915 issue. He was buried in Kensico Cemetery, in an unmarked grave. A cenotaph exists in

Grove Street Cemetery Grove Street Cemetery or Grove Street Burial Ground is a cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut, that is surrounded by the Yale University campus. It was organized in 1796 as the New Haven Burying Ground and incorporated in October 1797 to replace the ...

, on the more elaborate family stone.

Legacy

In 2018, "The Lost Art of Oz" project was initiated to locate and catalogue the surviving original artwork John R. Neill, W. W. Denslow, Frank Kramer, Richard 'Dirk' Gringhuis and Dick Martin created to illustrate the Oz book series.

References

External links

* *
Original W.W. Denslow artwork from ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' on www.lostartofoz.com
*
Hearn, Michael Patrick. “The Man Behind the Man Behind Oz: W.W. Denslow at 150” AIGA July 5, 2006.

at www.dardhunter.com
''Denslow's Humpty Dumpty''
From the Collections at the

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 ...

''Denslow's Mother Goose''
From the Collections at the

''Denslow's Three Bears''
From the Collections at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denslow, William Wallace 1856 births 1915 deaths American caricaturists American cartoonists American children's book illustrators American comics artists Artists from Philadelphia Burials at Kensico Cemetery National Academy of Design alumni Oz (franchise) Cooper Union alumni