Frances Brundage
Encyclopedia
Frances Isabelle Brundage (1854–1937) was an American illustrator
best known for her depictions of attractive and endearing children on postcard
s, valentines
, calendar
s, and other ephemera
published by Raphael Tuck & Sons
, Samuel Gabriel Company, and Saalfield Publishing
. She received an education in art at an early age from her father, Rembrandt Lockwood. Her professional career in illustration began at seventeen when her father abandoned his family and she was forced to seek a livelihood.
In addition to ephemera, Brundage illustrated children's classics such as the novels of Louisa May Alcott
, Johanna Spyri
, and Robert Louis Stevenson
, and traditional literary collections such as The Arabian Nights and the stories of King Arthur
and Robin Hood
. She was a prolific artist, and, in her late 60s, was producing as many as twenty books annually. Her work is highly collectible.
She sold her first professional work – a sketch illustrating a poem by Louisa May Alcott
– to the author. She illustrated books and ephemera such as paper dolls, postcards, valentines, prints, trade cards, and calendars. Her book illustrations were sometimes published as postcards.
In 1886, she married the artist, William Tyson Brundage, and gave birth to one child, Mary Frances Brundage, who died in 1891 aged 17 months. The Brundages resided in Washington, D.C.
, summered at Cape Ann, Massachusetts, and, in later years, moved to Brooklyn, New York. They occasionally worked jointly on projects.
Brundage produced works for Raphael Tuck & Sons
with an emphasis on attractive and endearing Victorian children. By 1910, she was working for New York publisher, Samuel Gabriel Company, and later, Akron, Ohio
publisher, Saalfield. She also worked for Stecher Lithographic Company, DeWolfe, Fiske & Company, Fred A. Stokes, Charles E. Graham & Company, E.P. Dutton, and Hayes Co.. During her late 60s, she produced as many as 20 books per year. Brundage died on March 28, 1937, aged 82 years.
She illustrated ethnic children in the stereotypical manner of the period.
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
best known for her depictions of attractive and endearing children on postcard
Postcard
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
s, valentines
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
, calendar
Calendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months, and years. The name given to each day is known as a date. Periods in a calendar are usually, though not...
s, and other ephemera
Ephemera
Ephemera are transitory written and printed matter not intended to be retained or preserved. The word derives from the Greek, meaning things lasting no more than a day. Some collectible ephemera are advertising trade cards, airsickness bags, bookmarks, catalogues, greeting cards, letters,...
published by Raphael Tuck & Sons
Raphael Tuck & Sons
In a little shop in Bishopsgate over a century ago, began a business that would have an artistic effect on most of the civilized world. Raphael Tuck and his wife Ernestine worked together in their little shop that opened in October 1866 on Union Street in London, and the influence of that event was...
, Samuel Gabriel Company, and Saalfield Publishing
Saalfield Publishing
The Saalfield Publishing Company published children's books and other products from 1900 to 1977. It was once one of the largest publishers of children's materials in the world....
. She received an education in art at an early age from her father, Rembrandt Lockwood. Her professional career in illustration began at seventeen when her father abandoned his family and she was forced to seek a livelihood.
In addition to ephemera, Brundage illustrated children's classics such as the novels of Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868...
, Johanna Spyri
Johanna Spyri
Johanna Spyri was an author of children's stories, and is best known for her book Heidi. Born Johanna Louise Heusser in the rural area of Hirzel, Switzerland, as a child she spent several summers in the area around Chur in Graubünden, the setting she later would use in her novels.-Biography:In...
, and Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
, and traditional literary collections such as The Arabian Nights and the stories of King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
and Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
. She was a prolific artist, and, in her late 60s, was producing as many as twenty books annually. Her work is highly collectible.
Biography
Brundage was born Frances Isabelle Lockwood on June 28, 1854 in Newark, New Jersey, to Rembrandt Lockwood and Sarah Ursula Despeaux. Her father was an architect, a wood engraver, and an artist who painted church murals, portraits, and miniatures. Brundage received her art education from her father, and, at the age of seventeen, was forced to earn a living from her art after Lockwood abandoned his family.She sold her first professional work – a sketch illustrating a poem by Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868...
– to the author. She illustrated books and ephemera such as paper dolls, postcards, valentines, prints, trade cards, and calendars. Her book illustrations were sometimes published as postcards.
In 1886, she married the artist, William Tyson Brundage, and gave birth to one child, Mary Frances Brundage, who died in 1891 aged 17 months. The Brundages resided in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, summered at Cape Ann, Massachusetts, and, in later years, moved to Brooklyn, New York. They occasionally worked jointly on projects.
Brundage produced works for Raphael Tuck & Sons
Raphael Tuck & Sons
In a little shop in Bishopsgate over a century ago, began a business that would have an artistic effect on most of the civilized world. Raphael Tuck and his wife Ernestine worked together in their little shop that opened in October 1866 on Union Street in London, and the influence of that event was...
with an emphasis on attractive and endearing Victorian children. By 1910, she was working for New York publisher, Samuel Gabriel Company, and later, Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
publisher, Saalfield. She also worked for Stecher Lithographic Company, DeWolfe, Fiske & Company, Fred A. Stokes, Charles E. Graham & Company, E.P. Dutton, and Hayes Co.. During her late 60s, she produced as many as 20 books per year. Brundage died on March 28, 1937, aged 82 years.
She illustrated ethnic children in the stereotypical manner of the period.