Thelma Somerville Cudlipp (14 October 1891 – 2 April 1983) was an American artist and book illustrator.

Early life

Thelma was born in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

on 14 October 1891. She was the daughter of Frederick Dallas Cudlipp and Annie (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Ericsson) Cudlipp. Her mother died in

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

on 24 June 1915. After her father died in Virginia in 1903, then in her teens, she came to New York City to study art. Her mother was an assistant editor on ''

The Delineator ''The Delineator'' was an American women's magazine of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, founded by the Butterick Publishing Company in 1869 under the name ''The Metropolitan Monthly.'' Its name was changed in 1875. The magazine was publis ...

'' in 1909 when

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm mora ...

was managing editor. Dreiser became infatuated with Thelma, but her mother was strongly opposed to Dreiser's involvement with her daughter, Thelma's mother succeeded in breaking up the relationship by sending Thelma to England and by reporting it to the directors of the Butterick Publishing Company, which cost Dreiser his job.

Artistic career

In England, Cudlipp continued her training in art, winning but not accepting a Royal Academy scholarship. When she returned to the U.S., she took lessons from

Kenneth Hayes Miller Kenneth Hayes Miller (March 11, 1876 – January 1, 1952) was an American painter, printmaker, and teacher. Career Born in Oneida, New York, he studied at the Art Students League of New York with Kenyon Cox, Henry Siddons Mowbray and with Willia ...

, one of Dreiser's friends. She became well known as an illustrator for various newspapers and magazines, such as '' Harper's'', ''

The Century Magazine ''The Century Magazine'' was an illustrated monthly magazine first published in the United States in 1881 by The Century Company of New York City, which had been bought in that year by Roswell Smith and renamed by him after the Century Associatio ...

'', ''

McClure's ''McClure's'' or ''McClure's Magazine'' (1893–1929) was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with having started the tradition of muckraking journalism (investigative journ ...

'', and ''

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 ...

''. In addition to her own work, she developed an interest in pre-Columbian sculpture, which she collected and promoted through lectures. She later developed a friendship with Dreiser, but it was not of a romantic nature. They exchanged letters with each other until Dreiser's death. In 1932, Thelma had an exhibition of her paintings at the Marie Sterner Galleries. In 1933, she was "declared the winner of the popular prize of $25" for her painting, entitled ''Victorian Place'', in the annual exhibition of the

Newport Art Association The Newport Art Museum, founded in 1912 as the Art Association of Newport, is located at 76 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. The museum operates a gallery in the John N. A. Griswold House, a National Historic Landmark that is one of th ...

Personal life

In 1918, she married Edwin Prescott Grosvenor (1875–1930), a successful attorney with

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP (known as Cadwalader) is a white-shoe law firm, and is New York City's oldest law firm and one of the oldest continuously operating legal practices in the United States. Attorney John Wells founded the practice ...

, and cousin of former president

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

. Edwin was the son of

Edwin A. Grosvenor Edwin Augustus Grosvenor (August 30, 1845 – September 15, 1936) was a historian, author, chairman of the history department at Amherst College, and president of the national organization of Phi Beta Kappa societies from 1907 to 1919. Grosvenor ...

and brother of

Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor (; October 28, 1875 – February 4, 1966), father of photojournalism, was the first full-time editing, editor of the ''National Geographic'' magazine (1899–1954). Grosvenor is credited with having built the magazine into ...

, who married Elsie May Bell (daughter of

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...

). Together, they were the parents of two daughters: Anne Somerville Grosvenor (1919–2001), who married Dwight Edwards Robinson Jr. in 1945., and Louise Taft Grosvenor (1921–1987), who married Montana politician

Sumner Gerard Sumner Gerard Jr. (July 15, 1916 – February 24, 2005) was an American businessman, politician, and diplomat. Born in New York to a prominent family, Gerard attended Groton School and Trinity College, Cambridge. After serving in the army, navy ...

. After her husband's death in 1930, she married

Charles Seymour Whitman Charles Seymour Whitman (September 29, 1868March 29, 1947) was an American lawyer who served as the 41st Governor of New York from January 1, 1915, to December 31, 1918. An attorney and politician, he also served as a delegate from New York to t ...

in 1933. Whitman had been

governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...

from 1915 to 1918. He died in 1947.Time Magazine, 17 April 1933 She died on 2 April 1983 in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

. She was buried at Washington Cemetery on the Green in

Litchfield County, Connecticut Litchfield County is in northwestern Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut and is the ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cudlipp, Thelma 1892 births 1983 deaths American women illustrators American illustrators Artists from Richmond, Virginia 20th-century American women artists