Kewpies scolding a little girl
DateDecember 1912
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 paper
Dimensionssheet: 12 7/16 × 18 5/8 in. (31.6 × 47.3 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Rose O'Neill Foundation, 2018
Object number2018-79
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextRose O'Neill's elfin characters in this drawing are Kewpies, creations she described as benevolent creatures "who (do) good deeds in a funny way." Here, they express their disappointment at the naughty behavior of a little girl. The laughing Kewpie at left is more indulgent. After their 1909 debut in the Ladies Home Journal, the Kewpies - derived from the small Cupids that decorated O'Neill's illustrations of love stories - appeared in various magazines and advertisements and then gained more popularity through a plethora of licensed merchandise and books. The Kewpie enterprise, which began to wane toward the end of the 1930s, made O'Neill a wealthy and independent woman.
Although the Kewpies were originally all identical, O'Neill later included some with individual characters. There are two here: one with a pith helmet, and a soldier with a rifle.
