Sarah Stilwell Weber facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sarah Stilwell Weber
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Sarah Stilwell Weber, photograph, circa 1902
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| Born |
Sarah S. Stilwell
1878 |
| Died | April 6, 1939 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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| Nationality | American |
| Education | Drexel Institute |
| Known for | Illustrator |
| Spouse(s) | Herbert Weber |
Sarah Stilwell Weber (1878 – April 6, 1939) was an American artist. She was famous for her illustrations. Sarah studied at the Drexel Institute with a well-known teacher named Howard Pyle.
She drew pictures for many books and national magazines. Some of these magazines included The Saturday Evening Post, Vogue, and The Century Magazine.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Sarah S. Stilwell was born in Concordville, Pennsylvania. Her family described her as a loving person. She especially loved children. They also said she was imaginative and had a positive personality.
Learning to Be an Artist
In 1897, Sarah Weber started studying at the Drexel Institute. Her teacher was Howard Pyle, a very popular and creative illustrator. Pyle was very picky about who he taught. He only accepted students who were great at drawing and using colors. They also needed to be very imaginative.
Drexel Institute offered special scholarships. These scholarships helped Pyle's best students study art at Chadd’s Ford. In 1899, Sarah won one of these scholarships. She spent the summer in a relaxed art program. Pyle believed this natural setting helped his students grow faster as artists. Many artists from the Brandywine School were good at showing the beauty of the Victorian Era. They did this without making their art too busy.
Sarah was one of Howard Pyle's favorite students. In 1900, she was among the first artists to live at his studio in Wilmington, Delaware. Pyle encouraged Sarah to focus on her art career. He also helped her sell her artwork in New York. He did this for his other top students too.
Her Amazing Art Career
Sarah Weber was a member of The Plastic Club. This club started in 1897. It was a women's art group. They helped women artists show their work. In 1902, Sarah illustrated an article. It was called "A Christmas Hymn for Children." It appeared in The Century Magazine.
In 1904, The Saturday Evening Post started hiring women to draw their covers. Sarah Weber created 60 covers for the magazine. Her first cover was for the New Year’s Number in 1904. Her last was Swinging in the Apple Tree in 1925. Sarah liked to take her time with her art. She preferred to finish her work perfectly, not rush for deadlines.
She often drew pictures of young children. She captured their happy and excited faces while they played. The Saturday Evening Post said she was great at showing movement. Her drawings made it seem like the children would dance right off the page. She often showed little girls in charming scenes. They might be flying kites, watering flowers, or cuddling cats.
Sarah also drew covers for The Country Gentleman and Vogue magazines. She also illustrated articles and covers for Harper's Bazaar, Collier's, and St. Nicholas Magazines.
Sarah Weber also created pictures for advertisements. She worked for companies like Rit Dyes and Wamsutta Mills. She even worked with her husband, Herbert, on a children's book. It was called The Musical Tree. Herbert wrote the poems and music. Sarah drew all the pictures. By 1921, she had a series of illustrations called Kiddie Kars. These pictures were used in The Kiddie-Kar Book.
In 1910, The New York Times wrote about illustrators. They said Sarah Weber was one of the highest-paid women illustrators. She earned a lot of money each year. She was as successful as other famous women artists like Elizabeth Shippen Green and Jessie Willcox Smith. These women artists had their own special styles. They often showed children from a woman's point of view.
Sarah Stilwell Weber, Ethel Franklin Betts, and Jessie Willcox Smith were among the most famous illustrators in the early 1900s.
Later Years and Legacy
Sarah Stilwell Weber passed away at her home in Philadelphia in April 1939.
Her artwork has been shown in many exhibitions. In 1975, her paintings were part of a show called "Women Illustrators in the Howard Pyle Tradition." This show was at the Brandywine River Museum. Other famous women artists were also featured.
In 2014, another exhibition showed her work. It was called "Women Illustrators in the Golden Age of Illustration, 1880-1920." This show was at the Barrett Art Gallery in New York.
Where You Can See Her Art
You can find Sarah Stilwell Weber's art in several places:
- Brandywine River Museum - Fairy Godmother
- Delaware Art Museum - Vogue magazine cover
- Dodd, Mead and Company - A New Day
- The Kelly Collection - Lady with Leopards
- Library of Congress Division of Prints and Photographs - illustration for "A Christmas Hymn for Children"
- National Museum of American Illustration
Books She Illustrated
- Happy Days (primary school book)
- Rhymes and Jingles (primary school book)
- The Musical Tree (children's song book)
Gallery
- Sarah Stilwell Cover Illustrations
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Happy Days, pen and ink, book title page, 1902
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Rhymes and Jingles, book cover design, 1904
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"Love at First Sight", Associated Sunday Magazine cover October 8, 1905 issue
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Collier's cover, 1911
