Elenore Plaisted Abbott (1875–1935) was an American book illustrator,

scenic design Scenic design, also known as stage design or set design, is the creation of scenery for theatrical productions including Play (theatre), plays and Musical theatre, musicals. The term can also be applied to film and television productions, wher ...

er, and

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

. She illustrated early 20th-century editions of ''

Grimm's Fairy Tales ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', originally known as the ''Children's and Household Tales'' (, , commonly abbreviated as ''KHM''), is a German collection of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Jacob Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm, first publish ...

,'' ''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' ( ) is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. Written with a combination of Epistolary novel, epistolary, Confessional writing, confessional, and Didacticism, didactic forms, the ...

'', and '' Kidnapped''. Several books were published as illustrated by Elenore Plaisted Abbott and Helen Alden Knipe (later Carpenter). Abbott was educated at three art schools in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and influenced by

Howard Pyle Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator, Painting, painter, and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life ...

. She was among a group of

New Women ''New Women'' () is a 1935 Chinese silent drama film produced by the United Photoplay Service. It is sometimes translated as ''New Woman''. The film starred Ruan Lingyu (in her penultimate film) and was directed by Cai Chusheng. This film beca ...

who sought educational and professional opportunities for women, including creating professional art associations like The Plastic Club to promote their work. She was married to fellow artist and lawyer C. Yarnall Abbott.

Early life and education

Elenore Plaisted was born in

Lincoln, Maine Lincoln is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The town's population was 4,853 at the 2020 United States Census. A statue honoring Medal of Honor recipient Gary Gordon was installed in Lincoln, in 2021. The bronze sculpture fa ...

. She studied art at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

at the

Académie des Beaux-Arts The (; ) is a French learned society based in Paris. It is one of the five academies of the . The current president of the academy (2021) is Alain-Charles Perrot, a French architect. Background The academy was created in 1816 in Paris as a me ...

, where her work was exhibited. Abbott moved back to

in 1899. She was influenced significantly by

, her instructor at the Drexel Institute. She said later in her life that she created her favorite pieces under his tutelage.

Career

Abbott, known for her book illustrations, was also a

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

and

portrait painter Portrait painting is a Hierarchy of genres, genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commissio ...

and

er,''Elenore Plaisted Abbott''.
The Artists Post 1911, Rose Valley Museum and Historical Society. Retrieved March 5, 2014. including work for

Hedgerow Theatre Hedgerow Theatre is a theatre company founded in 1923. It is based in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania, United States near Philadelphia. It was "for many years the only true U. S. professional repertory theater." The building is a contributing stru ...

's production of '' The Emperor Jones''. She produced illustrations for ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

'', the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'', and ''

Scribner's Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City that has published several notable American authors, including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjo ...

'' magazines. Abbott created illustrations for books, such as

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

's ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...

'' and ''Kidnapped'',

Johann David Wyss Johann David Wyss (; 28 May 1743 – 11 January 1818) was a Swiss author, best remembered for his book ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (''Der schweizerische Robinson'') (1812). He was born and died in Bern. It is said that he was inspired by Dan ...

's ''Swiss Family Robinson'',

Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott (; November 29, 1832March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known for writing the novel ''Little Women'' (1868) and its sequels ''Good Wives'' (1869), ''Little Men'' (1871), and ''Jo's Boys'' ...

's ''Old Fashioned Girl'', and the

. Abbott was a member of the Philadelphia Water Color Club and Philadelphia's The Plastic Club, an organization established by women artists to promote "Art for art's sake". Its members included Jessie Wilcox Smith,

Violet Oakley Violet Oakley (June 10, 1874 – February 25, 1961) was an American artist. She was the first American woman to receive a public mural commission. During the first quarter of the 20th century, she was renowned as a pathbreaker in mural decoratio ...

, and Elizabeth Shippen Green. These women were identified as the

New Woman The New Woman was a feminist ideal that emerged in the late 19th century and had a profound influence well into the 20th century. In 1894, writer Sarah Grand (1854–1943) used the term "new woman" in an influential article to refer to indepe ...

. As educational opportunities were made more available in the 19th century, women artists became part of professional enterprises, including founding their own art associations. Artwork made by women was considered to be inferior, and to help overcome that stereotype women became "increasingly vocal and confident" in promoting women's work, and thus became part of the emerging image of the educated, modern and freer "

". Artists "played crucial roles in representing the New Woman, both by drawing images of the icon and exemplifying this emerging type through their own lives." In the late 19th-century and early 20th century about 88% of the subscribers of 11,000 magazines and periodicals were women. As women entered the artist community, publishers hired women to create illustrations that depict the world through a woman's perspective. Other successful illustrators were

Jennie Augusta Brownscombe Jennie Augusta Brownscombe (December 10, 1850 – August 5, 1936) was an American painter, designer, etcher, commercial artist, and illustrator. Brownscombe studied art for years in the United States and in Paris. She was a founding member, stude ...

and Rose O'Neill.

Personal life

Elenore married lawyer and artist C. Yarnall Abbott in 1898 and the couple lived in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania after 1911. Her husband designed the family house with a studio for Elenore and himself.''C. Yarnall Abbott''.
The Artists Post 1911, Rose Valley Museum and Historical Society. Retrieved March 5, 2014. Their daughter Marjorie, named after Elenore's maternal aunt, was born in 1907. When her aunt died, the Abbotts took in her daughters, Sonya and Elenore. Elenore Abbot co-founded the Rose Valley

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

, in 1928, which was housed on land donated by the Abbotts and financed by the sale of some of Elenore's paintings.

Works

Illustrations

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Watercolor paintings

She made the following watercolor paintings by 1916, when they were exhibited at the Philadelphia Water Color Exhibition:Philadelphia Water Color Club.
Philadelphia Water Color Exhibition Catalogue
'. 1916. p. 46, 48, 49, 50. * ''Endymion and the Nereids'' * ''The Fairy Tale'' * ''Kerfol'' * ''Lamia'' * ''Madrigal'' * ''The Mother'' * ''Oh, to Line in the Grass with Pan!'' * ''Water''

Collections

* Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania ** ''I Was Despairing When the Bird Returned'', , watercolor on illustration board for ''Swiss Family Robinson'' ** ''On a Rude Throne Sat the Mother'', , watercolor on illustration board for ''Swiss Family Robinson'' ** ''The Cluster of Grapes Were Ripe and Rich'', , watercolor on illustration board for ''Robinson Crusoe'' ** ''The Monkey Resumed His Place'', , watercolor on illustration board for ''Swiss Family Robinson'' ** ''Louise Porter'' (portrait), , oil on canvas ** ''Presently I Found I Was Holding to a Spar'', , watercolor on illustration board for ''Kidnapped'' ** ''We Retired to Our Airy Castle'', , watercolor on illustration board for ''Swiss Family Robinson'' * Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE ** ''I Was Awakened by the Light of a Hand Lantern Shining in My Face,'' 1915, gouache on paper for ''Kidnapped'' ** ''Now and Again I Stumbled,'' 1911, gouache on paper for ''Treasure Island'' ** ''One Glance Was Sufficient,'' 1911, watercolor on paper for ''Treasure Island'' ** ''Take Me in Straight Or I'll Break Your Arm'', 1911, watercolor on paper for ''Treasure Island'' ** ''When I Waked, It Was Broad Day'', 1913, gouache on paper for ''Robinson Crusue'' * Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia ** ''The Dance'', 1896–1897, mural

Gallery

File:Rose Valley by Elenore Abbott.jpg, ''Rose Valley'' folding screen, 1903 or 1904 File:Elenore Abbott - Now and Again I Stumbled - 1911.jpg, "Now and again I stumbled," for Robert Louis Stevenson's ''Treasure Island,'' 1911. Delaware Art Museum. File:Cinderella by Elenore Abbott.jpg, "Rustle and shake yourself, dear tree. And silver and gold throw down to me," for ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'', 1920 File:Elenore Abbott - Six Swans - 1920.jpg, "She looked around, and saw swans come flying through the air", '' Six Swans'' for ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'', 1920 File:Elenore Abbott - Soaring Lark - 1920.jpg, "The griffin carried them over the Red Sea", '' Soaring Lark'' for ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'', 1920

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Elenore 1875 births 1935 deaths American women illustrators American children's book illustrators American fantasy artists 20th-century American painters Illustrators of fairy tales 20th-century American illustrators People from Lincoln, Maine Artists from Maine Art Nouveau designers Art Nouveau illustrators Art Nouveau painters 20th-century American women painters American expatriates in France Philadelphia School of Design for Women alumni American women children's book illustrators