Dorothy Hope Smith facts for kids

Dorothy Hope Smith (born October 1, 1895 – died December 16, 1955) was an American artist and painter. She is most famous for drawing the original Gerber Baby. This drawing became a well-known symbol for Gerber baby food products.

Early Life and Education

Dorothy Hope Smith was born in Hyattsville, Maryland. Her parents were Lincoln B. and Mary L. Smith. She had two sisters, Edith and Clare, and Dorothy was the middle child.

In the early 1910s, Dorothy's family moved to Chicago. She grew up there during her teenage years. Dorothy studied art at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. While there, she met Perry Barlow, who would become her husband. They got married on February 22, 1922, in New York City. After their wedding, they went on their honeymoon in France.

After they married, Dorothy and Perry moved to New York City to work as illustrators. Later, they worked from their home in Westport, Connecticut.

Art Career

Dorothy Hope Smith was an artist who drew for companies. She was especially good at drawing babies and children. She created some of the "Ivory Soap Baby" pictures for Procter & Gamble. She also drew pictures for children's books published by Putnam. Her art appeared on the covers of several magazines, including:

• Woman's Home Companion (August 1925)
• Woman's Home Companion (September 1934)
• Parent-Teacher Magazine (April 1935)
• Parent's Magazine (June 1936)
• The Farmer's Wife Magazine (December 1936)

The Famous Gerber Baby

Dorothy Smith's most famous drawing, the Gerber Baby, started with a contest. In 1928, the Gerber company asked artists to send in drawings of babies. Dorothy sent in a quick charcoal sketch. She made the sketch from a photo of a baby named Ann Turner, who was the child of a family friend.

Dorothy's drawing wasn't completely finished. She sent it to ask about the baby's age and how big the ad should be. She planned to finish it later if Gerber liked it. But the judges at Gerber loved how simple the drawing was. They liked it more than the other, more detailed entries. Dorothy won $300 in the contest. She sold the rights to her drawing to Gerber. Because the drawing became so popular, Gerber officially made it their trademark in 1931.

Dorothy Smith worked steadily from the 1920s until she passed away in 1955. She was a very successful artist for many different products.

Personal Life

Dorothy's husband, Perry Barlow, was a cartoonist. He drew 135 covers for The New Yorker magazine. He also created many cartoons for them. Perry also contributed his work to magazines like Collier's and The Saturday Evening Post.

Perry was partially colorblind. This meant he had trouble seeing some colors. So, Dorothy helped him with the coloring process for his artwork. Dorothy and Perry had two sons, Collins and Peter. Peter's child, Dorothy "Dorrie" Barlow Thomas, is Smith's only granddaughter. After Dorothy passed away in 1955, her son Peter continued to help Perry with the colors for his drawings.

Images for kids

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  A picture of a Gerber Oatmeal box, with Smith's drawing on the front.