Charles Dana Gibson : a study of an artist as social historian

Includes bibliographical references (pages 147-155)The objective of this study is to provide a background for an evaluation of the contribution of Charles Dana Gibson to the history of American art as well as to the social history of America through the medium of graphic art. The paper gives an account of Gibson's work from the sale of his first drawing in 1886, to 1905 when he interrupted a busy career as the highest paid artist-illustrator in the country in order to travel to Europe to study painting.\ud Through a chronological arrangement of his drawings, the remarkable breadth of his stylistic evolution is analyzed; first in the light of contemporary European trends in the fine arts, and later in that of the social realist movement in the United States. An attempt is made to isolate artistic influences evidenced in his art, as well as to document his own significant influence on other artists. In each period of Gibson's career, the social phenomena with which he was concerned is examined so as to illuminate his important role as social historian.\ud The impact of Gibson's visual imagery made him a powerful influence upon his times, and his formulation of an American ideal of womanhood, together with the significance of his role in her ???emancipation,??? is projected in a separate chapter on the Gibson Girl. There is also a brief analysis of his oils in an effort to place him in the most appropriate art historical niche (American Impressionism), and some examples of his paintings are shown. The appendixes contain a brief biographical sketch, a list of books written and/or illustrated by Gibson, and a selection of drawings with the original publication sources (either album or major periodical) provided for the majority of the 150 plates included