Sarah Noble Ives (American Artist and Illustrator,1864-1944). Original Drawing: "There was a Fat Man of Bombay." Ink, waterc...

Description

Sarah Noble Ives (American Artist and Illustrator,1864-1944). Original Drawing: "There was a Fat Man of Bombay." Ink, watercolor and gouache on board, unsigned, and not framed. [Place of creation not identified but likely New York, not dated, circa 1910]. (Image area: 12 x 11 inches; 310 x 280 mm). Captioned with note and title at bottom. A few stray marks and blemishes, browning and soiling, chips and bumps to corners with slight loss, else very good.

More Information: Sarah Noble Ives was from Michigan, near Detroit, and after art studies in High School, she attended a Training School for Elocution and Literature run by Mrs. Edna Chaffee Noble, who was a suffragette and significant role model to Ms. Ives. She continued her education in New York at the School for Artists and Artisans and then also in Paris at the Académie Julian and Académie Delécluse. After Paris, Ms. Ives returned to New York City to find work as a freelance author and illustrator, then moved back to Port Huron, Michigan in 1921, and in 1925 retired to Altadena California with her (also unmarried) sisters. She remained in Altadena for the rest of her life, in 1938 penning a history of her adopted town, Altadena, compiled for the Altadena Historical and Beautification Society, published in Pasadena. Her home is featured on historical tours of Altadena.

A versatile artist, illustrator, historian and author, Ms. Ives illustrated and wrote several children's books, among them: Dog Heroes of Many Lands; and Songs of the Shining Way published in 1899 and dedicated to her teacher and mentor Mrs. Noble (from whom she took her professional pen-name). Her work appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Herald Tribune, McClure's, and The Boston Globe; and worked as a freelance illustrator for book publishers. She signed most commercial work with "Noble Ives" or "N-I" to disguise her gender and increase opportunities to gain freelance work. Also a gifted fine artist, she exhibited her landscapes and other oils in many art shows. As an accomplished illustrator she notably created color pictures for books published by the McLoughlin Brothers, including a series for an edition of Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes.