100 Years of Illustration

Sarah S. Stilwell: An Appreciation

I apologize for the poor quality of reproduction in this piece for Scribner's Monthly Magazine for December 1907. Stilwell received top billing but something went awry in the production. There's a bit more Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth influence in these.

A close-up of the inset which spares us the overpowering page design and allows us to concentrate on the delightful illustration.

Click on image to enlarge Stillwell's illustration for The Water Babies.

This is what I meant by a Pyle and/or Wyeth influence. Look at the story-telling going on here. The text, by Edith B. Sturgis, reads:

. . . . They were sort of elfin-fairies, and yet as big as me,
Their hair was dark and shiny, and as wet as it could be.
At first I thought it would be fun to go with them and play,
And watch the little fishes, and make bubbles all the day.

But then I grew quite frightened, they pointed at me so,
They knew I had been a naughty girl, and the biggest one said "O–oh!". . . .

Click on image to enlarge this illustration entitled, The Fairy Godmother.

Look at those faces. That is fine painting, let alone great and wonderful story illustration. I wish we knew more about this remarkable woman. If any of you have any information, please post it as a comment.

Addendum

Reader V. Pillard comments on 21 December 2004: I have just received a gift of a painting by Sarah Stilwell that I would like to know more about. It is a painting of a girl sitting in bed with a colorful quilt over her. She is looking out a window. It is an oil 15 x 20 inches. On the back are the numbers 3193 which might be 3/91. Were painting[s] dated in that way back in the 18th century. What does anyone know of her early work. I could post the picture but am not sure how. Can I email it to someone?

PG reply on 23 December 2004: Is this it? It appeared in the December 1899 issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine and my scan is at it was reproduced in black and white. The proportions match pretty well with the 15 x 20 inch size you have given me.

Sarah S. Stilwell: Flowers of May, 1905

Click on the image to enlarge this full-page illustration for the May 1905 issue of Scribner's Monthly Magazine. I've included this to show how great minds were thinking so much alike in those years. Consider that Stilwell painted her illustration in early 1905 or earlier, while a whole ocean away in Giverny, outside Paris, Claude Monet was painting these canvases. As good as he way, Monet couldn't depict little girls the way Stilwell did, despite his place in the Pantheon of great painters.

"Le Jardin de Monet, les iris" (1900) Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

"Nympheas" (detail) Claude Monet  (1908) Private collection. Click on image to enlarge.

These lovely paintings came from a great Monet site, courtesy of Stanford University.

Biography of Claude Monet, I wish we had the same amount of information about Sarah S. Stilwell Weber.

Sarah S. Stilwell: By the Evening Fire, 1904

Click on the image to enlarge this wonderful illustration that appeared full page (image size: 5 x 7.5 inches) in Scribner's Monthly Magazine for December 1904. It's Stilwell at her best, reminiscent of the great French master Georges De La Tour with a more contemporary American treatment.

This image is from the Louvre Edition of Great Museums of the World © 1967 Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. It is a painting by De La Tour (circa 1593-1652) entitled Mary Magdalen with Oil Lamp (1635-1640). The intense lighting is typical of De La Tour's work and most powerful when seen in person. It was painted in oil on canvas and, like most of his work, large in size. This is a little more than three by four-and-a-half feet. Click on image to enlarge.

Sarah S. Stillwell: Other People's Children, 1902

Sarah Stilwell did these spot illustrations to liven up this article by Edward S. Martin in Harper's Monthly Magazine for January 1902. There are a couple of full-page drawings as well but the life and energy seem to be in the spots used to break up the text, which is pretty dull considering that most readers have brought up children of their own and whoever this Mr. Martin is (nothing came up in searches at Google and Yahoo) he wrote of boys in public schools and uniforms and marching ranks for the entire front page of the article. It's no wonder that the Harper editors used drawings by Ms. Stilwell to liven up some dull copy.

There isn't a word in the article relating to children feeding chickens, so I feel certain that the editors simply wanted to find a place for Stilwell's drawings even if they don't have anything to do with the story.

One of the nicer spot drawings. Click on the image to enlarge.

The more I look at these, the more I'm sure they were part of her portfolio. For a January 1902 pub date, the production would have had to be done in 1900 or 1901, which coincides with Sarah Stilwell's studies with Howard Pyle as her mentor. I'm guessing that he advised her, when offering a critique of her work, to get over to Harper's and see the reigning editors at once; Harper's being at the time one of his most important publishing clients.

Sarah S. Stilwell: Introduction

Stilwell is one of my favorites. She could draw children as no one else could, and make her illustrations into paintings. This is a full pager entitled In October from Scribner's Monthly Magazine for October 1905. The bright-eyed stare is precious. I feel certain it was drawn from life, probably with photos as a backup. Click on image to enlarge.

I believe it's the way Howard Pyle (1853-1911) and his pupils worked. Draw as much from life as possible and rely on the photos for what you might have missed after the models have left the studio. Not a lot has been recorded about Stilwell. We know she entered Pyle's studio at Drexel in 1898 and studied there and at his summer school at Chadd's Ford PA, moving to Wilmington DE when Pyle returned there.

She freelanced her illustrations for major publishers from 1900 while continuing to be mentored by Pyle. She eventually married and settled in Philadelphia, where she remained all her life.

Stay tuned for more of her wonderful work.