The Kewps and Stern Irene
Date1912
Artist
Rose O'Neill
(American artist, cartoonist, and writer 1874–1944)
Illustration CitationFrom "The Kewps and Stern Irene," Woman's Home Companion, December 1912
MediumInk and graphite on thick paper mounted on board
Dimensionssheet: 17 × 17 7/8 in. (43.2 × 45.4 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Rose O'Neill Foundation, 2018
Object number2018-78
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextO’Neill was most famous for her illustrations of Kewpies, androgynous Cupid-like characters that she claimed appeared to her in a dream. The Kewpies made their first appearance in the December 1909 issue of Ladies’ Home Journal and became an instant sensation amongst readers. Kewpie comics were published in Ladies’ Home Journal, Woman’s Home Companion, and Good Housekeeping well into the 1930s. In 1913, the first Kewpie doll was created, and the Kewpies were licensed for a variety of products, including advertisements for Jell-O, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, and Eastman Kodak. At one point, the Kewpies made O’Neill the highest-paid and wealthiest illustrator of her time. Though the Kewpies’ popularity dwindled with the Great Depression, Kewpies are still manufactured in variations today.
