Clara Elsene Peck facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Clara Elsene Peck
Born	April 18, 1883 Allegan, Michigan, US
Died	February 1968 (aged 84) Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
Education	Minneapolis School of Fine Arts, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, William Merritt Chase
Known for	Illustration, Painting, Watercolor, Etching
Notable work	Illustrations/decorations for Shakespeare's Sweetheart (1905), A Lady of King Arthur's Court (1907), both by Sara Hawks Sterling; and In the Border Country, (1909) by Josephine Daskam Bacon
Movement	American Impressionism
Awards	New York Association of Women Painters and Sculptors, Prize, 1920, 1921

Clara Elsene Peck (born April 18, 1883 – died February 1968) was an American illustrator and painter. She was famous for her drawings of women and children in the early 1900s.

Clara studied art at the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts. She worked as a magazine illustrator from 1906 to 1940. Her art appeared in many places. These included popular women's magazines and children's books. She also created art for products like Ivory soap. Later in her career, she drew comic books and painted with watercolors.

Clara Elsene Peck worked during a special time called the "Golden Age of American Illustration." This period lasted from the 1880s to the 1930s. Other well-known female illustrators of her time included Jessie Willcox Smith and Violet Oakley. Her art was shown in big exhibitions. She won awards from the New York Association of Women Painters and Sculptors.

Who Was Clara Elsene Peck?

Early Life and Art Training

Clara Elsene Peck was born in Allegan, Michigan on April 18, 1883. She grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota. From a young age, Clara loved art. She once said that wanting to be an artist was "strong since childhood."

She studied art at the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts. Later, she attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. There, she learned from American Impressionist painter William Merritt Chase.

Her Family and Home

In 1906, Clara married another artist, John Scott Williams. They had two children, Aynard and Conway. Clara and John sometimes worked on art projects together. When they did, they signed their work with "P W."

In 1915, Clara and John moved to an art colony in Leonia, New Jersey. Many artists lived there, and it was a creative community. Clara later lived in Brooklyn, New York and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. She passed away in Gettysburg in February 1968.

Her Amazing Art Career

Becoming an Illustrator

Clara Peck started her illustration career in the early 1900s. This was a time when new printing methods made it easier to add pictures to books and magazines. This era is known as the "Golden Age of Illustration."

She created illustrations, decorations, and special lettering for books. Some of her famous early works include drawings for Shakespeare's Sweetheart (1905) and A Lady of King Arthur's Court (1907). She also illustrated several books by Josephine Daskam Bacon.

Magazine and Ad Art

Cover for Theatre Magazine, November 1921

By 1908, Clara designed her first cover for Collier's magazine. In the 1910s and 1920s, she drew for many popular women's magazines. These included Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, and Ladies Home Journal. Her art also appeared in St. Nicholas Magazine and The Youth's Companion.

Clara also worked as a commercial artist. This means she created art for advertising campaigns. She drew ads for companies like Procter & Gamble and for products like Ivory Soap. Her illustrations often showed women and children. She drew them in many different roles and situations. Her style was known for being "decorative" and "sensitive."

Drawing for Comic Books

"Waiting Winter Storage", oil/canvasboard, (c. 1950)

In the 1940s, Clara Peck became a cartoonist. She drew for Topix Comics and Treasure Chest. These were Catholic-themed comic books. Topix Comics started in 1942 and featured stories about brave Christians and Saints. It was very popular, with over 600,000 copies sold by 1946. Clara's work appeared in these comics for many years. They were mainly given out in Catholic schools.

Later Paintings

In the 1950s, Clara focused more on painting. She participated in several art shows. Her paintings were shown in Europe and across the United States. You can find her paintings in museums like the Brandywine River Museum and the Delaware Art Museum.

Awards and Recognition

Clara Elsene Peck was a member of many important art groups. These included the American Watercolor Society and the Society of Illustrators. She was one of the first 20 women to join the Society of Illustrators by 1922.

Her work was shown in major exhibitions. These included shows at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. She won awards from the New York Association of Women Painters and Sculptors in 1920 and 1921. After she passed away, her art was still featured in important exhibitions. These included "200 Years of American Illustration" in 1976 and "America's Great Women Illustrators 1850–1950" in 1985.

Books She Illustrated

• Phases, Mazes and crazes of love. By Minna Thomas Antrim. 1904.
• Knocks, Witty Wise and ____. By Minna Thomas Antrim. 1905.
• Shakespeare's Sweetheart. By Sara Hawks Sterling. 1905.
• A Lady of King Arthur's Court. By Sara Hawks Sterling. 1907.
• In the Border Country. By Josephine Daskam Bacon. 1909.
• The Hallowell Partnership. By Katharine Holland Brown. 1912.
• The Prince of Mercuria. By Atkinson Kimball. 1914.
• The Diary of an Expectant Mother. By Charlotte Hirsch. 1917.

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