I love this drawing, and have been aware of it for years. It was created by Anne Goldthwaite around 1915. Today I was doing research on early women cartoonists, pre-New Yorker, trying to find out who the first woman cartoonist might have been. Aware of Suffrage cartoonists from that period, and this drawing, I couldn’t really find anything that would help me know who might be the first woman. There were a number of women artists during the early part of the 1900’s who drew for the Suffrage cause, trying to counter visual narratives of womens place in society. The research is part of work I am doing for the development of my documentary on women cartoonists.
Primarily a painter, Anne Goldthwaite was very active in women’s rights and equal rights for ethnic minorities. Originally from Alabama, she studied in New York and Paris during a very heady time for art, she traveled in circles that included Picasso and Matisse. She also became known for painting post-slavery life in the rural south
From Wikipedia:
“Anne Goldthwaite was an advocate of equal rights and women's rights. She was actively involved in woman's groups, and fought for equality in the South for ethnic minorities. Her work as an activist and artist intersected on several occasions, including the 1915 Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Women Artists for the Benefit of the Woman Suffrage Campaign, which she co-organized, and the unfurling of a suffrage banner of her own design at a 1916 New York Giants baseball game.[5]In a 1934 radio interview, Goldthwaite offered her perspective on the work of women artists, observing: ‘the best praise that women have been able to command until now is to have it said that she paints like a man. But that women have a valid place as women artists is both obvious and logical. . . . We want to speak to . . . an audience that asks simply—is it good, not—was it done by a woman.’”
I can’t believe I just stumbled upon this remarkable woman. When you think about the time in which she created, we know how difficult it must have been to rebel against stereotypes and push towards equality in her work. I still don’t know a lot about her, but just now looking at her paintings online, they are lovely. But I can’t help think that it’s a cartoon such as the one she drew at the top of the post that carries more weight than her paintings. I want to find more of her cartoons!
The fact that she painted and studied and traveled in all-male circles is a huge accomplishment for those times.
She had a lot of guts. The women I am researching were trailblazers, chronicling their lives with such wonderful lines and words. I imagine they felt compelled to do so, against all odds; this also fascinates me. We are the lucky ones, because we can learn from them.
I hope I can do them justice in my documentary.
Looks like you really have your work cut out for you, but also like you're very much up to the task. What's more exciting than original historical research? Chuck Y.