Illustrator, Painter, Cartoonist, b. 1867 - d. 1944
American artist Charles Dana Gibson is best known for his iconic Gibson Girl images, representing an ideal of American womanhood. They were heavily based on his wife, Irene Langhorne, and her four sisters, including Lady Nancy Astor. He got his artistic start cutting and selling silhouettes at age eight. While in his teens, he apprenticed for a year with Augustus Saint-Gaudens, where he discovered he preferred pen and ink to sculpture.
Gibson began doing illustrations for Life magazine, a new start-up, in 1885, and while he eventually contributed to most of New York's print media, he took over — first as editor in 1918, then as owner in 1920 — of Life. Following a brief hiatus after World War I, Charles Dana Gibson's prints and drawings have enjoyed a steady popularity. Artist Charles Dana Gibson's and other artists vintage portrait drawings online are some of Invaluable's most eagerly sought-after pieces.
GIBSON, Charles Dana(1867 - 1944) "A widow and her friends" R.H. Russel and John Lane. New York, London. 1901. 30 x 45 cm. Limitierte Auflage 53/ 250, durch die Verleger signiert. Humorvolle Bildergeschichte mit qualitätvollen Zeichnungen. Leineneinband mit Goldprägung . Aufrufzeit 24. | Okt. 2024 | voraussichtlich 14:13 Uhr (CET) GIBSON, Charles Dana(1867 - 1944) "A widow and her friends" R.H. Russel and John Lane. New York, London. 1901. 30 x 45 cm. Limited edition of 53/ 250, signed by the publishers. Humorous picture story with high-quality drawings. Cloth binding with gold embossing . Aufrufzeit 24. | Oct. 2024 | probably 14:13 (CET) *This is an automatically generated translation from German by deepl.com and only to be seen as an aid - not a legally binding declaration of lot properties. Please note that we can only guarantee for the correctness of description and condition as provided by the German description.
Gibson, Charles Dana 1867 - 1944 Drawings by C.D. Gibson Letterpress Print ca. 1894 18.8 x 24 in. (48 x 61 cm) Printer: no information Condition Details: (B+) was folded, on linen, small tears at the edges and folds, small losses in the bottom margin, minor mat burn#USA #Art #Small #Women
CHARLES DANA GIBSON New York/Maine/Massachusetts, 1867-1944 Two interior scene illustrations: 1) Cupid entertaining a couple seated at a large dining table. Signed lower center "C.D. Gibson". 2) A young woman playing a violin. Unsigned.
(lot of 2) Charles Dana Gibson (American, 1867-1944), "An Argument with the Leading Lady" and Untitled (Inconsolable Widow and Plain Friend), lithographs, signed in plate, overall (with frame, for each): 18.25"h x 21.25"w
Charles Gibson, American (1867-1944) Pencil Signed Print. Described on the Back. Unframed. Condition: Generally Good, Some Yellowing due to Age. Dimensions: Sight- 15.75" x 10.25". Total-17.75" x 11.75". Provenance: From a Long Island, NY Home. Please note the absence of a Condition Report does not imply that there are no condition issues with this lot. Please contact us for a detailed Condition Report. It is the Buyer's responsibility to inspect each lot and deem their own opinions on Condition, Description, Provenance, and Validity before purchasing. Please make an appointment to preview or ask for Condition Reports. Condition Reports are rendered as an opinion by the staff of the Auction House and not as statements of fact. REMEMBER ALL SALES ARE FINAL AND ALL ITEMS ARE SOLD AS-IS, WHERE IS.
(lot of 2) Charles Dana Gibson (American, 1867-1944), "An Argument with the Leading Lady" and Untitled (Inconsolable Widow and Plain Friend), lithographs, signed in plate, overall (with frame, for each): 18.25"h x 21.25"w
Gibson, Charles Dana 1867 - 1944 Scribner´s for June Letterpress Print 1895 22 x 14.1 in. (56 x 36 cm) Printer: no information Condition Details: (B+/B) was folded, on linen, small tears, creases, minor staining, and one tiny loss at the edges#USA #Literary #Small
CHARLES DANA GIBSON New York/Maine/Massachusetts, 1867-1944 Two interior scene illustrations: 1) Cupid entertaining a couple seated at a large dining table. Signed lower center "C.D. Gibson". 2) A young woman playing a violin. Unsigned.
Charles Dana Gibson original ink on paper artwork depicting a Victorian era luncheon. Large artwork measures approximately 28.5'' x 22''. Verso also shows a graphite sketch of a couple kissing who resemble Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman from ''Casablanca''. Mounting remnants to verso, some discoloration and toning more prominent along edges. A few discreet areas of abrasion. Overall in very good condition.
Circle of Charles Dana Gibson (American, 1867-1944), Woman with roses, possible signature bottom edge of verso "A. Eol...?", remnant printer's label and pencil notations on verso, on deteriorating board fragment, approx. 31"h x 22"w
'Can you drive a car? - Will you drive one in France? - Immediate service at the front!' American Field Service recruitment poster, by artist Charles Dana Gibson (1867-1944), Boston, Massachusetts, ca 1917. Some toning, 22.25 x 14 inches. Professionally linen-backed. Caption label from exhibit 'Gibson Girl's America Political Cartoonist': Appeal for Action. Robed in the American flag, Miss Columbia, the symbolic embodiment of the nation, fends off skeletal Death with one arm, while shielding a wounded soldier with her other. In this poster, which calls the viewer to service, Gibson pays tribute to the American Ambulance Field Service, founded by young Americans in Paris after the start of World War I. Some 2,500 volunteer ambulance drivers supported French Armies in every major battle and carried more than 500,000 wounded as well as munitions and supplies. (From: Library of Congress 2001698259)
CHARLES GIBSON New York/Maine/Massachusetts, 1867-1944 Two drawings: "Tired Golfers" and "Last Day of Summer". "Tired Golfers" signed in center "CD Gibson". Other unsigned.
Woman Reading in the Summer, slouched in a wicker chair set in a garden atrium, ink on paper, unsigned, matted, unframed. OS: 20" x 16", SS: 13 1/2" x 10 1/2".
Drawing a Card on a Seductress, india ink on paper, signed lower right, in vintage black stick frame, matted under glass, OS: 14 1/2" x 18 1/2", SS: 9" x 12 1/2".
Two ink on paper, The Trustworthy Hen signed 'C.D. Gibson' lower center. 16 1/2 x 28 1/2 in. (sight), 25 x 37 in. (frame), 21 x 27 in. (sight), 32 1/2 x 38 in. (frame).
Charles Dana Gibson (American, 1867-1944), oil on canvas depicting a young woman in red with downcast eyes, signed l.l., 22" x 18" canvas, 27 3/4" x 23 3/4" framed.
Charles Dana Gibson (American, 1867-1944), oil on canvas depicting a smiling woman with large blue earrings, signed u.l., dated illegibly u.r., 24" x 20" canvas.
Charles Dana Gibson (American, 1867-1944), oil on canvas after Diego Velazquez's "Portrait of Sebastian de Morra", depicting the Spanish court jester seated on the ground, 31" x 25 1/4" canvas.
Charles Dana Gibson (American, 1867-1944), oil on canvas after Diego Velazquez's "The Buffoon Juan de Calabazas" depicting the Spanish court buffoon seated next to the gourd from which he got his name, 32 1/2" x 26" canvas, 38 1/2" x 32 1/4" framed.
Charles Dana Gibson (American, 1867-1944), 1943, oil on canvas depicting a young woman with a blond up-do and a red jacket, signed u.l., dated u.r., 24" x 20" canvas.
Beautiful gestural portrait of one of the Gibson girls with messily coifed hair and seductive facial expression. Pencil signed on lower half of portrait. Copyright 1900 Life Publishing Company printed on lower right. Double matte with fabric texture and pink coloration. Gold finished wood frame with glaze. 9.25"H x 7.25"W; frame: 16"H x 14"W x 0.75"D. Artist: Charles Gibson Manufacturer: Life Publishing Company
Charles Dana Gibson (American, 1867-1944) Title - The Last Day of Summer. Original pen and ink drawing on board. Signed lower right C. W. Gibson and E.J.W. 1901. Measures 10.6 inches high, 13 inches wide. Framed with mat. Frame measures 15.7 inches high and 18.2 inches wide. In good condition. From Askart.com: In 1886, a nineteen-year-old artist, portfolio in hand, was seen sneaking his way up the backstairs to the New York City offices of the young humor magazine, LIFE. A tall, handsome youth, he hardly looked like the type that needed to sneak his way around anywhere. But he'd spent the entire year making the rounds of every magazine in New York and their unanimous rejection of his work had chipped away at his self-confidence. He had decided that this was it if LIFE didn't buy something, there would be one less artist struggling to sell his work. Among the drawings in the portfolio was a sketch of a dog baying at the moon, with the legend beneath, The Moon and I. It was a spoof on the ballad of the same name from The Mikado, Gilbert and Sullivan's popular musical. The drawing was mediocre, the technique less than masterful, but it was a funny idea, and the editor thought he saw something promising there. And so, like the proverbial happy ending, he bought it, and Charles Dana Gibson was saved from obscurity. Gibson's name became synonymous with the nineties, for it was he who fashioned for them a whole new standard for romantic love and resurrected chivalry, creating something that actually became a part of the real world he lived in. In doing so, he gave the world that elusive creature aloof but tender, naughty but adorable, and always, always beautiful, the Gibson Girl. Gibson (1867-1944) was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He came from an old New England family which included artists, merchants, and seamen. His interest in art showed itself early. Charles's father often cut silhouette figures to amuse his son and it was not long before the boy began to create his own pictures. By the time he was 14, his skill with the scissors had become a local legend, and he obtained an apprenticeship with Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the sculptor. Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that three-dimensional art was not Gibson's forte. Happily, lack of success with sculpture led to experimentation with pen and pencil. After graduation, and knowing that his family had no money for his college education, Gibson enrolled in the then relatively new and inexpensive Art Students League. Persistence paid off and he gained the confidence to continue trying after selling to LIFE magazine. When assignments began to come, he took the opportunity to study in Paris, and the improvement in his drawing was readily apparent. Later in life, at the peak of his career, he again visited Europe and again returned with improvement in technique. Gibson was not particularly political, and did not often portray political situations in his cartoons; his forte was the social set and high society at which he continually poked fun. His greatest period of popularity lasted until 1910, although he continued to be prolific during the first world war and the early 1920s. Gibson's line and technique are still studied by serious illustrators. His bold lines and use of contrast allowed him to paint pictures with no more than white paper and black ink. Character, tone and humor are reflected in a style that was often emulated by the popular artists of his day. The ability to produce original pen and ink work was a new technique in the 1880s when Gibson first arrived on the scene. Up to that time, line artists produced the drawings which were then cut into wood or metal by engravers. Eliminating the middleman gave the artist a greater control and enhanced his or her ability to communicate with the reader. From: AmericanIllustratorsGallery.com: Charles Dana Gibson (1867-1944) was born into a wealthy New England family from Roxbury, then a suburb of Boston. His first interest in art was as a boy, watching his father cut family silhouettes. An enterprising lad, he started to cut similar silhouettes at the age of eight, but by the time he was twelve, he was selling them. Through family connections, at fourteen years old, Charles was apprenticed to sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Cornish Colony founder and friend of Maxfield Parrish. After nearly a year in the Saint-Gaudens studio, he determined that sculpture was not his main interest and he took up pen and ink drawing. His parents, having already recognized early artistic talent and were quick to enroll him in the Art Students League. In 1885, due to unforeseen family financial hardships, he was forced to leave school and start his career art. Unable to find a job, he happened onto Life, a new magazine competing with the already well-established competitors, Puck and Judge. Life magazine saw his talent and enthusiasm and hired him on a trial basis to draw editorial cartoons featuring political figures. However, from the very start, Gibson's interests were in portraying the social set rather than politicians, and the audience enjoyed the manner in which he poked fun at high society's characters and their idiosyncrasies. His trial monthly salary started at $33, but it was increased each month until the third month it had reached $185. His value to Life, from his very first drawing, was quite tangible to the publisher because his drawings sold magazines. At the same time, he also consulted with another magazine Tid-Bits, later re-named Time magazine. Before long, Gibson was illustrating articles for Scribner's Magazine, Century, and Harper's Magazine as well as Life and Tid-Bits. In 1890, Charles Gibson drew the first 'Gibson Girl,' and featured her in his first independent portfolio of drawings of beautiful women, only the portfolio had the same woman's face, over and over again, in different poses and with different garb. Undoubtedly, his wife Irene Langhorne Gibson, was the model for the original 'Gibson Girl.' In 1904, his popularity and that of the 'Gibson Girl' had grown so large that Robert Collier and his partner Condé Nast, tried to sign Gibson to their magazine team at Collier's Weekly, just as they had done with Pyle, Remington and Parrish before him. Gibson refused due to his loyalty to Life, but Collier and Nast persisted, then compromised and agreed to a complicated sharing relationship with Life, for his services. It was tantamount to signing a major league baseball player and letting him pinch hit for two teams, but in different leagues. The contract was worth $100,000 for 100 illustrations over a four-year period. The amount of money was staggering in today's terms. In 1905, Gibson yearned to give up his pen and ink drawings and to emulate other artists whom he respected most: Abbey, Frost, Remington, and Parrish and he wished to paint in oils as they did. Yet, this was the height of his career and he recognized that it was the wrong time to be idealistic and self-indulgent, it was just going to be too expensive to stop working for such an immense salary, which had reached $75,000 per annum with other side deals still in place, including the original Life commission. Charles Dana Gibson's greatest popularity was between 1900 and 1910, although he was productive well into the 1920's. His best-known subject was, of course, the proverbial 'Gibson Girl'. She was well-known as the ideal image of youthful American femininity, the modern woman, athletic, smart, stylish, and desirable and she sold magazines. If Gibson suddenly had an idea about a different style hat, or gloves, or a belt, whole new fashion lines would start overnight, for whatever the 'Gibson Girl' wore, every female desired. At one point, when Gibson placed a ribbon on her forehead with a certain style dress, on her tall statuesque figure, the country talked about the new style immediately and sweatshops roared with activity, trying to produce an entire new line of clothing. While the nation was craving its own styles in art and architecture, searching for an American identity on the world scene, it did not need to search for idealization in portraying the American woman. 'The Gibson Girl' satisfied that need by captivating the imagination of the country and by providing a perfect image of femininity, uniquely American of which everyone was proud. In 1917, after the founding of the Society of Illustrators, Gibson convened a subgroup of illustrators who pledged their efforts to help win the war. Included were James Montgomery Flagg, JC Leyendecker, Howard Chandler Christy, and others. Gibson had the foresight to set them up formally as The Division of Pictorial Publicity in the US Office of Public Information with himself as head. After the defeat of the Germans, he continued to take it on the personal quest to save Western Civilization by continuing to illustrate propaganda posters. However, the public was more interested in forgetting the war. They wanted to know more about flappers, the Charleston, hot jazz music, fast cars, and booze. The 'Gibson Girl' was no longer de rigueur. In 1920, Charles Dana Gibson headed a syndicate of illustrators, writers, and staff members, and they bought Life magazine at auction. Gibson held the largest number of shares. Unfortunately, new competition from the New Yorker, Fortune and Time, all pressured Life with tough competition, and it slumped further into near demise. Gibson sold the magazine in 1932, and at sixty-five, he retired and finally took up oil painting. Although not as successful artistically as his pen and ink drawings of decades earlier, The American Academy of Arts and Letters exhibited his work and a New York Times critic exclaimed, Make no mistake about it, Charles Dana Gibson is a painter. The public had long assumed that pen and ink were his only tools. They were uninterested in his oil paintings, and fickle, they soon forgot him. Yet, the 'Gibson Girl' lives on, perhaps more than any other idealized beauty, the public still remembers her, and Gibson's name has sustained itself, due to her strength. Charles Dana Gibson died quietly in Maine in 1944, of a heart attack.
