The Red Rose Girls: Sharing a Studio

Jessie Willcox Smith illustration for
"The Emigrant East" for Scribner's

"The Oakley sisters' three-room skylit space on the third floor where the sisters lived and worked could easily accommodate another artist, so Jessie Willcox Smith was invited to move in. After Hester Oakley moved, out since writing had become the central focus of her career, Elizabeth Shippen Green and another of Pyle's students, Jessie Dodd, moved in.  The building had high ceilings and good light, and their sympathetic landlord, Clement C. Love, charged them only $18 each per month for the combined studio and living space. Because he was patient when they occasionally fell behind on the rent, they dubbed him 'Clemency Love' in honor of his benevolence.

The 'Evangeline' project had been a critical success and led to more assignments for Smith and Oakley. Among Smith's commissions in 1897 were several illustrations and two cover illustrations for 'Woman's Home Companion.' Violet garnered covers for 'The Century Magazine' and 'Collier's Illustrated Weekly.' Elizabeth Green made enough money to take a trip to Europe, and chaperoned by her mother, visited London, Brussels, Paris, Antwerp, and Amsterdam.

When she rejoined her friends in their studio, her energy proved contagious. The four young artists were anxious to expand their focus, to collaborate, and to continue their education, even though they had completed their schooling. In 1897 they had been presented with an opportunity to be part of a vibrant artistic community, becoming devoted charter members of the Plastic Club. 

The Plastic Club was the first successful woman's art organization in the country. At that time the world plastic referred to the fact that an unfinished work of art is always in a malleable, or plastic, state. Their gathering fostered a determination among the city's female artists to form a supportive organization through which women could combine artistic and social interests. There were informative lectures, weekly drawing classes, social events and parties, and most significantly a series of shows of the members' artwork."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Red Rose Girls: Art and Love on Philadelphia's Main Line" by Alice A. Carter.)