Rose O'Neill
Encyclopedia
Rose Cecil O'Neill was an illustrator
who created a popular period comic called Kewpie.
as the second of seven children to William Patrick and Alice Asenath "Meemie" Smith O'Neill. As a child Rose loved to draw, and her father would leave specially sharpened pencils and blank paper around the house for her. At the age of 13 Rose entered a children's drawing competition sponsored by the Omaha Herald
and won first prize. With in two years she was doing illustrations for the Excelsior and The Great Divide and other periodicals with help from the editor at the Omaha World-Herald and the Art Director from Everybody Magazine that had judged the competition. The income helped support her family which her father had not been able to do as a bookseller. Later O'Neill's father decided she would do even better if she went to New York City. William Patrick O'Neill took his daughter in 1893 to NYC stopping in Chicago to see the World Columbian Exposition where she saw large paintings and sculptures for the first time that she had only seen in her fathers books. Once in New York Rose was left on her own to live with the Sisters of St. Regis. The nuns accompanied her to various publishers to sell from her portfolio of 60 drawings. Rose sold all her work and took orders for more. Soon she was an extremely popular illustrator and was being paid top dollar for her work. In the September 19, 1896 issue of True Magazine O'Neill became the first American women cartoonist with "The Old Subscriber" cartoon strip.
While O'Neill was in New York her father made a homestead
claimed on a small tract of land in the Ozarks wilderness of southern Missouri
. The tract had a 'dog-trot' cabin
with two log cabins and a breezeway between, with one cabin used for eating and living and the other for sleeping. A year later Rose visited the land, which became known as Bonniebrook
magazine.
, Rose met a young Virginian named Gray Latham. Visiting O'Neill in New York City, Latham continued writing to her when she went to Missouri to see her family. After Latham's father went to Mexico
to make films, he went to Bonniebrook in 1896. Concerned with the welfare of her family, O'Neill sent much of her paycheck home to her family. With it her family built a 14-room mansion.
In the following years O'Neill became unhappy with Latham, as he liked "living large", including gambling, and was known as a playboy
. With very expensive tastes, O'Neill found that Latham had taken her paychecks and spent them on himself. After having her money stolen by Latham, O'Neill moved to Taney County, Missouri
where she filed for divorce in 1901, moving to Bonniebrook permanently.
After a short period of time O'Neill began receiving anonymous letters and gifts in the mail, eventually learning they were coming from an assistant editor at Puck. She married Harry Leon Wilson
in 1902. After a honeymoon in Colorado
they moved to Bonniebrook where they lived for the next several winters. During the first three years Harry wrote a novel, for which Rose drew illustrations. One of Harry's later novels, Ruggles of Red Gap
, became popular and was made into several motion pictures, including a silent movie
, a "talkie" starring Charles Laughton
, and then a remake called Fancy Pants
starring Lucille Ball
and Bob Hope
. Harry and Rose divorced in 1907.
Becoming known as the "Queen of Bohemian Society" O'Neill became a women's rights
advocate. Her properties included Bonniebrook; an apartment in Washington Square
in Greenwich Village that inspired the song Rose of Washington Square
; Castle Carabas in Connecticut; and Villa Narcissus on the Isle of Capri, Italy
. Considered one of the world's five most beautiful women, O'Neill made a fortune of $1.4 million, (approximately $15 million).
O'Neill continued working, even at her wealthiest. Perhaps driven by the unfortunate circumstances in her life to express herself, along with the needs of her family, she delved into different types of art. She learned sculpture at the hand of Auguste Rodin
(The Thinker), and had several exhibitions of her "Sweet Monsters" in Paris and the United States. She held open salons in her Washington Square apartment where poets, actors, dancers and the 'great thinkers' of her day would gather. O'Neill often continued her drawing until early morning.
hurt O'Neill's fortune. During that period O'Neill was dismayed to find that her work was no longer in demand. The Kewpie character phenomena, after 30 years of popularity, faded, and photography was replacing illustrating as a commercial vehicle. O'Neill decided to make another doll, eventually creating Little Ho Ho, which was a laughing baby Buddha
. However, before plans could be finalized for production of the new little figure, the factory burnt to the ground.
O'Neill became a prominent personality in the Branson, Missouri
community, donating her time and pieces of artwork to the School of the Ozarks at Point Lookout, Missouri
. She lectured at artist's workshops and continued to address women's groups.
In April 1944, O'Neill died at the home of her nephew in Springfield, Missouri
. She is interred in the family cemetery at Bonniebrook next to her mother and several family members.
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...
who created a popular period comic called Kewpie.
Early life
O'Neill was born in Wilkes-Barre, PennsylvaniaWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
as the second of seven children to William Patrick and Alice Asenath "Meemie" Smith O'Neill. As a child Rose loved to draw, and her father would leave specially sharpened pencils and blank paper around the house for her. At the age of 13 Rose entered a children's drawing competition sponsored by the Omaha Herald
Omaha World-Herald
The Omaha World-Herald, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is the primary daily newspaper of Nebraska, as well as portions of southwest Iowa. For decades it circulated daily throughout Nebraska, and in parts of Kansas, South Dakota, Missouri, Colorado and Wyoming. In 2008, distribution was reduced to the...
and won first prize. With in two years she was doing illustrations for the Excelsior and The Great Divide and other periodicals with help from the editor at the Omaha World-Herald and the Art Director from Everybody Magazine that had judged the competition. The income helped support her family which her father had not been able to do as a bookseller. Later O'Neill's father decided she would do even better if she went to New York City. William Patrick O'Neill took his daughter in 1893 to NYC stopping in Chicago to see the World Columbian Exposition where she saw large paintings and sculptures for the first time that she had only seen in her fathers books. Once in New York Rose was left on her own to live with the Sisters of St. Regis. The nuns accompanied her to various publishers to sell from her portfolio of 60 drawings. Rose sold all her work and took orders for more. Soon she was an extremely popular illustrator and was being paid top dollar for her work. In the September 19, 1896 issue of True Magazine O'Neill became the first American women cartoonist with "The Old Subscriber" cartoon strip.
While O'Neill was in New York her father made a homestead
Homestead (buildings)
A homestead is either a single building, or collection of buildings grouped together on a large agricultural holding, such as a ranch, station or a large agricultural operation of some other designation.-See also:* Farm house* Homestead Act...
claimed on a small tract of land in the Ozarks wilderness of southern Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. The tract had a 'dog-trot' cabin
Dogtrot house
The dogtrot, also known as a breezeway house, dog-run, or possum-trot, is a style of house that was common throughout the Southeastern United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Most theories place its origins in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Some scholars believe the style...
with two log cabins and a breezeway between, with one cabin used for eating and living and the other for sleeping. A year later Rose visited the land, which became known as Bonniebrook
Puck (magazine)
Puck was America's first successful humor magazine of colorful cartoons, caricatures and political satire of the issues of the day. It was published from 1871 until 1918.-History:...
magazine.
Early career
A few years later, while in Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, Rose met a young Virginian named Gray Latham. Visiting O'Neill in New York City, Latham continued writing to her when she went to Missouri to see her family. After Latham's father went to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to make films, he went to Bonniebrook in 1896. Concerned with the welfare of her family, O'Neill sent much of her paycheck home to her family. With it her family built a 14-room mansion.
In the following years O'Neill became unhappy with Latham, as he liked "living large", including gambling, and was known as a playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
. With very expensive tastes, O'Neill found that Latham had taken her paychecks and spent them on himself. After having her money stolen by Latham, O'Neill moved to Taney County, Missouri
Taney County, Missouri
Taney County is a county located in Southwest Missouri in the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the county's population was 39,703. In the 2010 census the counties population was 51,675 Its county seat is Forsyth....
where she filed for divorce in 1901, moving to Bonniebrook permanently.
After a short period of time O'Neill began receiving anonymous letters and gifts in the mail, eventually learning they were coming from an assistant editor at Puck. She married Harry Leon Wilson
Harry Leon Wilson
Harry Leon Wilson was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels, Ruggles of Red Gap and Merton of the Movies. His novel, Bunker Bean helped popularize the term flapper.-Biography:...
in 1902. After a honeymoon in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
they moved to Bonniebrook where they lived for the next several winters. During the first three years Harry wrote a novel, for which Rose drew illustrations. One of Harry's later novels, Ruggles of Red Gap
Ruggles of Red Gap
Ruggles of Red Gap was serialized beginning December 26, 1914 in the Saturday Evening Post and became a best selling novel in 1915 by Harry Leon Wilson, adapted for the Broadway stage as a musical the same year, and made into a movie several times, most famously in 1935.In the comedy Western film...
, became popular and was made into several motion pictures, including a silent movie
Silent Movie
Silent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...
, a "talkie" starring Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
, and then a remake called Fancy Pants
Fancy Pants
Fancy Pants is a 1950 American comedy film, directed by George Marshall starring Lucille Ball and Bob Hope.-Plot:A B-grade stage actor is convinced to play the role of a butler for a Western family who are about to host President Theodore Roosevelt....
starring Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
and Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
. Harry and Rose divorced in 1907.
Creation of Kewpie
After returning to Bonniebrook, Rose concentrated on her artwork. During that period, O'Neill created the Kewpie characters she became popular for. The cartoon was instantly famous. In 1912 a German porcelain manufacturer started making Kewpie dolls, and that year she and her sister went to Germany to show the porcelain artists how to make the dolls the way she wanted them.Becoming known as the "Queen of Bohemian Society" O'Neill became a women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
advocate. Her properties included Bonniebrook; an apartment in Washington Square
Washington Square Park
Washington Square Park is one of the best-known of New York City's 1,900 public parks. At 9.75 acres , it is a landmark in the Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village, as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity...
in Greenwich Village that inspired the song Rose of Washington Square
Rose of Washington Square
Rose of Washington Square is a 1939 American musical drama film. Set in 1920s New York City, it focuses on singer Rose Sargent and her turbulent relationship with con artist Barton DeWitt Clinton, whose criminal activities threaten her professional success in the Ziegfeld Follies.Although the names...
; Castle Carabas in Connecticut; and Villa Narcissus on the Isle of Capri, Italy
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
. Considered one of the world's five most beautiful women, O'Neill made a fortune of $1.4 million, (approximately $15 million).
O'Neill continued working, even at her wealthiest. Perhaps driven by the unfortunate circumstances in her life to express herself, along with the needs of her family, she delved into different types of art. She learned sculpture at the hand of Auguste Rodin
Auguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
(The Thinker), and had several exhibitions of her "Sweet Monsters" in Paris and the United States. She held open salons in her Washington Square apartment where poets, actors, dancers and the 'great thinkers' of her day would gather. O'Neill often continued her drawing until early morning.
Later life
In 1937 O'Neill returned to Bonniebrook permanently. By the 1940s she lost most of her money and her beautiful homes because of her extravagant nature, and after fully supporting her family, her entourage of "artistic" hangers-on and her first husband. The Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
hurt O'Neill's fortune. During that period O'Neill was dismayed to find that her work was no longer in demand. The Kewpie character phenomena, after 30 years of popularity, faded, and photography was replacing illustrating as a commercial vehicle. O'Neill decided to make another doll, eventually creating Little Ho Ho, which was a laughing baby Buddha
Buddharupa
Buddharūpa is the Sanskrit and Pali term used in Buddhism for statues or models of the Buddha.-Commonalities:...
. However, before plans could be finalized for production of the new little figure, the factory burnt to the ground.
O'Neill became a prominent personality in the Branson, Missouri
Branson, Missouri
Branson is a city in Taney County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was named after Reuben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s....
community, donating her time and pieces of artwork to the School of the Ozarks at Point Lookout, Missouri
Point Lookout, Missouri
Point Lookout is an unincorporated community in Taney County, Missouri, United States, near Branson and Hollister. A college town, it is next to Lake Taneycomo and is home to the College of the Ozarks. College of the Ozarks hosts the NAIA Division II basketball tournament annually.Point Lookout is...
. She lectured at artist's workshops and continued to address women's groups.
In April 1944, O'Neill died at the home of her nephew in Springfield, Missouri
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...
. She is interred in the family cemetery at Bonniebrook next to her mother and several family members.