art.wikisort.org - Artist

Grace Drayton (née Gebbie, also known as Grace Wiederseim; October 14, 1878 – January 31, 1936) was an illustrator of children's books, fashion pages, and magazine covers. She created the Campbell Soup Kids.[1][2] She is considered to be one of the first and most successful American female cartoonists.[3][4]

Grace Drayton
Born	Grace Gebbie (1878-10-14)October 14, 1878 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died	January 31, 1936(1936-01-31) (aged 58)
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Cartoonist, Illustrator
Pseudonym(s)	Grace G. Wiederseim
Notable works	Campbell Soup Kids Dolly Dimples Dolly Dingle Paper Dolls The Pussycat Princess
Spouse(s)	Theodore Wiederseim ​ ​ (m. 1900; div. 1911)​ W. Drayton ​ ​ (m. 1911; div. 1923)​

Biography

Drayton was born Grace Gebbie in 1878 in Philadelphia. Her father, George Gebbie, was an art publisher.[4]

Drayton attended Drexel Institute (now Drexel University) and the Philadelphia School of Design for Women (PSDW).[4] While at PSDW, she was a student of the American artist and teacher Robert Henri during 1893 and 1894.[4] Drayton began her career as a freelance artist in 1895.[1] From 1905 to 1909, she was a member of The Plastic Club, an arts organization in Philadelphia.[5] She created the Campbell Soup Kids which was used in advertisements for Campbell's Soup beginning in 1904.[1][2] The Campbell Soup Kids and Drayton's other children characters were drawn in a cute cherubic style often with round faces, plump bodies, and rosy cheeks.[1][2][6]

With her sister Margaret G. Hays (1874-1925) as writer, Drayton produced The Adventures of Dolly Drake and Bobby Blake in Storyland and The Turr’ble Tales of Kaptin Kiddo in the period 1905–1909.[1][2] Drayton designed the popular Dolly Dingle paper dolls, which appeared in the women's magazine Pictorial Review.[5]

She also created syndicated newspaper comic strips for Hearst/King Features such as Naughty Toodles, Dottie Dimple, Dimples, Dolly Dimples and Bobby Bounce, and The Pussycat Princess.[1][6][4] Drayton was the first woman to be a cartoonist for Hearst.[2] The Pussycat Princess was started in 1935. After Drayton's death in 1936, the strip was continued by Ruth Carroll and Ed Anthony.[1]

Personal life

In 1900 she married Theodore Wiederseim. In 1911, she divorced Wiederseim and married William Drayton, and started signing her work as Grace Drayton. She divorced Drayton in 1923.[1][4] Grace Drayton died in 1936 and is buried at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Yeadon, Pennsylvania [7]

Legacy

The Campbell Soup Kids were an iconic staple of Campbell's Soup advertising strategy for decades.[2] The Campbell Soup Kids drawings and memorabilia remain popular with antique collectors.[3][2] It is possible that Drayton's work had some influence on Japanese Shōjo manga in the late 1930s.[2] Drayton's Dolly Dingle dolls are part of the Joseph Downs Collection at the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library.[4][8] Some of her work is also part of the collection at The Cartoon Museum.[4]

Comic strips

as Grace G. Wiederseim:

• Toodles / Naughty Toodles / The Strange Adventures of Pussy Pumpkin And Her Chum Toodles! (Hearst, March 22, 1903–January 10, 1904)[2][9]
• The Adventures of Dolly Drake and Bobby Blake in Storyland (The Philadelphia Press, 1905–1906) — written by Margaret G. Hays[10]
• The Turr’ble Tales of Kaptain Kiddo (Philadelphia North American Company, 1909) — written by Margaret G. Hays[11]
• Dottie Dimple (Hearst, 1908–1911)

as Grace Drayton:

• Dimples (Hearst, January 1914–1918)
• Dolly Dimples and Bobby Bounce (King Features, 1928–Spring 1933) — with topper strip Kittens[6]
• The Pussycat Princess (King Features, 1935–1947) — written by Ed Anthony; art continued by Ruth Carroll after Drayton's 1936 death

Sources

External links

• McGrath, W.E. (2006). Grace Drayton, a Children's Illustrator Who also Painted Young Women -- A Biographical Sketch
• "Grace Gebbie Drayton (Wiederseim)," with many images, at D.B. Dowd Studio Notes
• Drayton profile, with many images, at Vintage Valentine Museum
• Grace Drayton UFDC Museum Exhibit
• WorldCat search Grace Drayton; Wiederseim (evidently not redundant as of September 2016, when her works seem to be the only hits for 'Wiederseim')
• Grace G. Drayton at Library of Congress Authorities, with 8 catalog records (see also 'Wiederseim' and 'Grace Gebbie' searches)

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