Untitled (1893-1900)

Charles Dana Gibson prints bring the elegant, independent Gibson Girl and the witty social comedy of turn-of-the-century America onto your walls. Gibson was the most celebrated pen-and-ink artist of his time, whose drawings in Life magazine defined the ideal American woman of the 1890s and 1900s. Our collection of fine art prints covers his Gibson Girls, courtship and society cartoons, book illustrations and wartime posters.

About Charles Dana Gibson

Charles Dana Gibson was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, on 14 September 1867. A talented child with an early interest in art, he studied for two years at the Art Students League in New York.

Peddling his pen-and-ink sketches, he sold his first drawing to Life magazine in 1886, and his work appeared in it weekly for more than thirty years. His drawings also ran in Harper's Weekly, Scribner's and Collier's, and he illustrated books including The Prisoner of Zenda and Rupert of Hentzau (1898). The first Gibson Girl appeared in 1890. In 1895 he married Irene Langhorne, one of the famous Langhorne sisters of Virginia; contrary to legend, they did not inspire the Gibson Girl, though friends and family later modelled for him.

After the death of Life's founder John Ames Mitchell in 1918, Gibson became editor and later owner of the magazine. As the Gibson Girl's popularity faded after the First World War, he turned to oil painting for his own pleasure. He was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1918 and became a full Academician in 1932. He retired in 1936 and died in New York on 23 December 1944.

Style and Subjects

Gibson drew in crisp black ink with a confident, flowing line, building tone through fine hatching. His Gibson Girl is tall and poised, with a long neck, swept-up hair and a calm, slightly amused expression, sporty, fashionable and more than a match for the men around her.

Many of his drawings are gentle satires of high society: courtship, marriage, dinner parties, holidays and the comedy of manners between men and women, often in series such as The Weaker Sex.

Famous Works

• Gibson Girl (1893), National Gallery of Art, Washington. The ideal American woman of the 1890s, his most famous creation.
• Sunday Morning near Stanhope Gate (1897), National Gallery of Art, Washington. Fashionable Londoners strolling near Hyde Park.
• A Senseless After-Dinner Custom (1898), Vanderbilt Museum, Centerport. A wry look at the ladies left alone after dinner.
• Big Game (1900), Vanderbilt Museum, Centerport. Gibson Girls on the hunt, with men as the prey.
• The Weaker Sex. A series of witty drawings about men and women.
• The New Hat (1905), National Gallery of Art, Washington. A woman and her latest fashion.
• Uncle Sam Shielding France from Germania (1917), National Gallery of Art, Washington. A First World War cartoon from his patriotic poster work.

Decorating with Gibson Prints

Gibson's black-and-white drawings are wonderfully versatile. A row of Gibson Girls looks crisp and stylish in a hallway, dressing room or powder room, and suits vintage, Art Nouveau and modern monochrome interiors.

His witty society cartoons, like The Weaker Sex, make a fun gallery wall in a living room, study or guest bathroom, and the courtship scenes are a playful choice for a bedroom.

FAQ

What is the Gibson Girl?

The Gibson Girl was Charles Dana Gibson's drawing of the ideal American woman around 1890–1914: tall, elegant, confident and athletic, with swept-up hair. She first appeared in 1890.

Was the Gibson Girl based on his wife?

No. The first Gibson Girl appeared in 1890, more than two years before he met his wife Irene Langhorne and her sisters, though friends and relatives later modelled for him.

Where were Gibson's drawings published?

Mainly in Life magazine, where his work appeared weekly for over thirty years, and in Harper's Weekly, Scribner's and Collier's. He later became editor and owner of Life.

Where can I see Charles Dana Gibson's work?

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Vanderbilt Museum on Long Island, the New-York Historical Society and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston hold his drawings and paintings.

Related Artists

• Harrison Fisher: American illustrator of glamorous women in the next generation
• Howard Chandler Christy: creator of the "Christy Girl", a successor to the Gibson Girl
• James Montgomery Flagg: American illustrator and fellow wartime poster artist
• George du Maurier: British pen-and-ink satirist of society for Punch