Half/Sheet LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT
Renamed International Exhibition Award to Honor the Red Rose Girls of Philadelphia The Red Rose Girls, Philadelphia 1863-1935 From left – Violet Oakley, Jesse Wilcox Smith, and Elizabeth Shippen Green with Henrietta Cozens.
You might be asking why would PWCS rename an award at the prestigious International Exhibition after three women from Philadelphia? Well, back in 1897, these three female artists challenged the state of the maledominated American illustration world. The women were Violet Oakley, Jesse Willcox Smith and Elizabeth Shippen Green who also were some of the first females to become members of the Philadelphia Water Color Society. The story of these women taking classes from Howard Pyle, who was considered the Father of American illustration, serves as a tribute to the perseverance and talent these 3 young women possessed. At this time in American history, women were prohibited from taking drawing classes and were not admitted to the better art schools. However, Pyle allowed them into his art class where they became friends. Pyle felt these three women represented some of the best works in his class and he used his influence to help them get their first illustrating jobs for magazines. The women got along so well that they decided to move in together and share an apartment and art studio in the Red Rose Inn in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The female artists got their nickname, the Red Rose Girls, from Pyle who taught them illustration. He felt they were exemplars of the artistic style of Romantic realism. The women helped each other by dressing up in costumes and posing for each other’ paintings. When one had a success, they all would celebrate each other’s good fortune. Elizabeth Shippen Green got assignments to illustrate for The Saturday Evening Post. Oakley did illustration work for several magazines but became known for her large murals in the Pennsylvania State Capitol building. Jessie Wilcox Smith became a famous children's book illustrator, renowned for her empathetic paintings of moth-