The Red Rose Girls: Jessie Willcox Smith, Pt. 1

"Curly Locks" by Jessie Willcox Smith

"Jessie Willcox Smith was born in Philadelphia at a time when the city still retained much of its original charm, typified by tree-lined cobblestone streets and brick-walled gardens fragrant with the scent of the clematis flower. Jessie like to tell her friends that she was not born in the month of September, but in the month of Clematis, on the sixth day, in the year 1863. She was the fourth of four children and enjoyed a childhood of comfort, if not privilege. Her middle-class family managed to make ends meet but was never part of Philadelphia society, a closed circle that included only the descendants of the Colonial founders and the very wealthy. 

The Smiths were supportive of both their daughters. Jessie was sent to the Quaker Friends Central School in Philadelphia and then to Cincinnati, Ohio, to attend high school with her cousins. After graduation, she remained in Cincinnati. Because she had always loved children, she secured a job as a kindergarten teacher, trusting that a career in education would prove to be rewarding as well as somewhat profitable. It did not take her long to realize that she had no aptitude for her new vocation, and began to look for some other means of support.

One of her friends developed an interest in art and when she began to offer lessons, Jessie joined in as a student. It immediately became apparent that she had considerable talent. When her friend's mother, who was an artist, commented favorably on her drawings, Jessie abruptly changed her plans. Many years later she wrote about the accidental beginning of her auspicious career: 

'I knew I wanted to do something with children, but never thought of painting them, until an artist friend saw a sketch I had made and insisted I should stop teaching (at which I was an utter failure) and go to art school - which I did.'

She returned to Philadelphia, and on October 2, 1884 was admitted to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Red Rose Girls" An Uncommon Story of Art and Love" by Alice A. Carter.)