Advertising poster for Arabella and Araminta Stories by Gertrude Smith

Date1895

Artist Ethel Reed (American graphic artist, 1874–1912)

Illustration CitationAdvertising poster for "Arabella and Araminta Stories" by Gertrude Smith (Boston: Copeland and Day, 1895).

MediumThree-color commercial lithograph

Dimensionscomposition: 25 7/8 × 14 7/16 in. (65.7 × 36.7 cm)
sheet: 26 7/16 × 14 7/8 in. (67.2 × 37.8 cm)

Credit LineGift of Helen Farr Sloan, 1977

Object number1977-294

On View

Not on view

ClassificationsPRINT

Label TextA native of Massachusetts, Ethel Reed briefly attended Cowles School of Art in Boston, and by the age of 19 had a studio on Boylston Street. In the mid-1890s, she joined two Boston-area publishers as a book illustrator and cover design artist. She also created advertising posters for the publishers' products, often inspired by the Art Nouveau style, as well as by the expanses of flat color characteristic of Japanese art. Reed gained international recognition for her work and by 1896 was living in London, invited to replace Aubrey Beardsley on the avant-garde journal The Yellow Book. Mysteriously, Reed and her work disappeared from public view in 1898. It is now believed that she suffered from illnesses and fell into poverty.

The novel Arabella and Araminta was about twins. Their billowing clothing and hair, and the large and enveloping flowers (poppies), were recurring motifs in Reed's work. The Roman numerals and use of V for U may have been inspired by ancient inscriptions.