Sold at Auction: Bessie Pease Gutmann

Artist Bessie Pease Gutmann was an American painter and illustrator in the early 1900s, best known for her idyllic hand-colored portrait prints of cherubic infants and blissful children. Mass-produced reproductions of her prints saturated the market and are still popular today. Artist Bessie Pease Gutmann’s work graced 22 covers of leading family magazines, including McCalls, and her illustrations of children’s books, including the 1905 edition of Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses and the 1907 edition of Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, remain highly prized.

Bessie Pease Gutmann's prints of babies and children are valued for their accurate, stylized portraiture. The prints are almost photographic, with delicate brushstrokes and well-lit staging, accentuated with rosy cheeks, sunny features, and accessorized finery. Bessie Pease Gutmann's prints value differently according to whether they’re original matte paper portraits or early or later copies. Check out other stylized, niche portrait prints for sale at Invaluable.