The Two Kings' Children by Elenore Abbott

Elenore Abbott - The Shoes that Were Danced to Pieces - 1920

Elenore Plaisted Abbott (1875–1935) was an American

book illustrator The illustration of manuscript books was well established in ancient times, and the tradition of the illuminated manuscript thrived in the West until the invention of printing. Other parts of the world had comparable traditions, such as the Pers ...

, scenic designer, and painter. She illustrated early 20th-century editions of ''

Grimm's Fairy Tales ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', originally known as the ''Children's and Household Tales'' (german: Kinder- und Hausmärchen, lead=yes, ), is a German collection of fairy tales by the Grimm brothers or "Brothers Grimm", Jacob and Wilhelm, first publi ...

,'' ''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

'', and '' Kidnapped''. Several books were published as illustrated by Elenore Plaisted Abbott and Helen Alden Knipe (later Carpenter). Abbott was educated at three art schools in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and influenced by

Howard Pyle Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. In 1894, he began ...

. She was among a group of

New Women ''New Women'' () is a 1935 Chinese silent drama film produced by the United Photoplay Service. It is sometimes translated as ''New Woman''. The film starred Ruan Lingyu (in her penultimate film) and was directed by Cai Chusheng. This film became ...

who sought educational and professional opportunities for women, including creating professional art associations like

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 ...

to promote their work. She was married to fellow artist and lawyer C. Yarnall Abbott.

Early life and education

Elenore Plaisted was born in

Lincoln, Maine Lincoln is a town in Penobscot County, Maine. The town's population was 4,853 at the 2020 United States Census. A statue honoring Medal of Honor recipient Gary Gordon was installed in Lincoln, in 2021. The bronze sculpture faces Gordon's grav ...

. She studied art at 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), ...

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appa ...

, and in

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

at the

Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

, where her work was exhibited. Abbott moved back to

in 1899. She was influenced significantly by

, her instructor at the Drexel Institute. She said later in her life that she created her favorite pieces under his tutelage.

Career

Abbott, known for her book illustrations, was also a landscape and

portrait painter Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

and scenic designer,''Elenore Plaisted Abbott''.
The Artists Post 1911, Rose Valley Museum and Historical Society. Retrieved March 5, 2014. including work for

Hedgerow Theatre Hedgerow Theatre is a theatre company based in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, founded in 1923. It was "for many years the only true U. S. professional repertory theater." The building is a contributing structure in the Rose Valley H ...

's production of ''

The Emperor Jones ''The Emperor Jones'' is a 1920 tragic play by American dramatist Eugene O'Neill that tells the tale of Brutus Jones, a resourceful, self-assured African American and a former Pullman porter, who kills another black man in a dice game, is jailed, ...

''. She produced illustrations for '' Harper's Magazine'', the '' Saturday Evening Post'', and ''

Scribner's Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

'' magazines. Abbott created illustrations for books, such as

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

's ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

'' and ''Kidnapped'',

Johann David Wyss Johann David Wyss (; 28 May 1743 – 11 January 1818) was a Swiss author, best remembered for his book ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (''Der schweizerische Robinson'') (1812). He was born and died in Bern. It is said that he was inspired by Dan ...

's ''Swiss Family Robinson'', Louisa May Alcott's ''Old Fashioned Girl'', and the

. Abbott was a member of the Philadelphia Water Color Club and Philadelphia's

, an organization established by women artists to promote "Art for art's sake". Its members included Jessie Wilcox Smith,

Violet Oakley Violet Oakley (June 10, 1874 – February 25, 1961) was an American artist. She was the first American woman to receive a public mural commission. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, she was renowned as a pathbreaker in mural dec ...

, and Elizabeth Shippen Green. These women were identified as the

New Woman The New Woman was a feminist ideal that emerged in the late 19th century and had a profound influence well into the 20th century. In 1894, Irish writer Sarah Grand (1854–1943) used the term "new woman" in an influential article, to refer to ...

. As educational opportunities were made more available in the 19th century, women artists became part of professional enterprises, including founding their own art associations. Artwork made by women was considered to be inferior, and to help overcome that stereotype women became "increasingly vocal and confident" in promoting women's work, and thus became part of the emerging image of the educated, modern and freer "

". Artists "played crucial roles in representing the New Woman, both by drawing images of the icon and exemplifying this emerging type through their own lives." In the late 19th-century and early 20th century about 88% of the subscribers of 11,000 magazines and periodicals were women. As women entered the artist community, publishers hired women to create illustrations that depict the world through a woman's perspective. Other successful illustrators were

Jennie Augusta Brownscombe Jennie Augusta Brownscombe (December 10, 1850 – August 5, 1936) was an American painter, designer, etcher, commercial artist and illustrator. Brownscombe studied art for years in the United States and in Paris. She was a founding member, studen ...

and

Rose O'Neill Rose Cecil O'Neill (June 25, 1874 – April 6, 1944) was an American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer. She rose to fame for her creation of the popular comic strip characters, Kewpies, in 1909, and was also the first published fema ...

Personal life

Elenore married lawyer and artist C. Yarnall Abbott in 1898 and the couple lived in

Rose Valley, Pennsylvania Rose Valley is a small, historic borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its area is , and the population was 913 at the 2010 census. The area was settled by Quaker farmers in 1682, and later water mills along Ridley Creek drove ...

after 1911. Her husband designed the family house with a studio for Elenore and himself.''C. Yarnall Abbott''.
The Artists Post 1911, Rose Valley Museum and Historical Society. Retrieved March 5, 2014. Their daughter Marjorie, named after Elenore's maternal aunt, was born in 1907. When her aunt died, the Abbotts took in her daughters, Sonya and Elenore. Elenore Abbot co-founded the Rose Valley swimming pool, in 1928, which was housed on land donated by the Abbotts and financed by the sale of some of Elenore's paintings.

Works

Illustrations

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Watercolor paintings

She made the following watercolor paintings by 1916, when they were exhibited at the Philadelphia Water Color Exhibition:Philadelphia Water Color Club.
Philadelphia Water Color Exhibition Catalogue
'. 1916. p. 46, 48, 49, 50. * ''Endymion and the Nereids'' * ''The Fairy Tale'' * ''Kerfol'' * ''Lamia'' * ''Madrigal'' * ''The Mother'' * ''Oh, to Line in the Grass with Pan!'' * ''Water''

Collections

Brandywine River Museum The Brandywine Museum of Art is a museum of regional and American art located on U.S. Route 1 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania on the banks of the Brandywine Creek. The museum showcases the work of Andrew Wyeth, a major American realist painter, an ...

, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania ** ''I Was Despairing When the Bird Returned'', , watercolor on illustration board for ''Swiss Family Robinson'' ** ''On a Rude Throne Sat the Mother'', , watercolor on illustration board for ''Swiss Family Robinson'' ** ''The Cluster of Grapes Were Ripe and Rich'', , watercolor on illustration board for ''Robinson Crusoe'' ** ''The Monkey Resumed His Place'', , watercolor on illustration board for ''Swiss Family Robinson'' ** ''Louise Porter'' (portrait), , oil on canvas ** ''Presently I Found I Was Holding to a Spar'', , watercolor on illustration board for ''Kidnapped'' ** ''We Retired to Our Airy Castle'', , watercolor on illustration board for ''Swiss Family Robinson'' *

Delaware Art Museum The Delaware Art Museum is an art museum located on the Kentmere Parkway in Wilmington, Delaware, which holds a collection of more than 12,000 objects. The museum was founded in 1912 as the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts in honor of the artis ...

, Wilmington, DE ** ''I Was Awakened by the Light of a Hand Lantern Shining in My Face,'' 1915, gouache on paper for ''Kidnapped'' ** ''Now and Again I Stumbled,'' 1911, gouache on paper for ''Treasure Island'' ** ''One Glance Was Sufficient,'' 1911, watercolor on paper for ''Treasure Island'' ** ''Take Me in Straight Or I'll Break Your Arm'', 1911, watercolor on paper for ''Treasure Island'' ** ''When I Waked, It Was Broad Day'', 1913, gouache on paper for ''Robinson Crusue'' * Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia ** ''The Dance'', 1896–1897, mural

Gallery

File:Rose Valley by Elenore Abbott.jpg, ''Rose Valley'' folding screen, 1903 or 1904 File:Elenore Abbott - Now and Again I Stumbled - 1911.jpg, "Now and again I stumbled," for Robert Louis Stevenson's ''Treasure Island,'' 1911. Delaware Art Museum. File:Cinderella by Elenore Abbott.jpg, "Rustle and shake yourself, dear tree. And silver and gold throw down to me," for ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'', 1920 File:Elenore Abbott - Six Swans - 1920.jpg, "She looked around, and saw swans come flying through the air", '' Six Swans'' for ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'', 1920 File:Elenore Abbott - Soaring Lark - 1920.jpg, "The griffin carried them over the Red Sea", '' Soaring Lark'' for ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'', 1920

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Elenore 1875 births 1935 deaths American women illustrators American children's book illustrators 20th-century American painters 20th-century illustrators of fairy tales People from Lincoln, Maine American women painters Artists from Maine Art Nouveau designers Art Nouveau illustrators Art Nouveau painters 20th-century American women artists American expatriates in France Philadelphia School of Design for Women alumni