The Red Rose Girls: An Uncommon Story of Art and Love

Illustrators Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935) and Elizabeth Shippen Green (1871-1954), and muralist Violet Oakley (1874-1961) captivated early-20th-century society with their brilliant careers and uncommon lifestyle. This richly illustrated biography traces the lives of these three talented women, who took over the Red Rose Inn, a picturesque old estate on Philadelphia’s Main Line, and made a pact to live together forever-until one of them created havoc by leaving the fold to marry. Revealing a household of intimate friendship, mutual inspiration, shared ideas, and love, The Red Rose Girls unfolds against a backdrop of the emerging women’s rights movement in an era when female sexuality was still little understood or publicly acknowledged. It is an unforgettable story of three extraordinary women artists who achieved success on their own terms. Full-color reproductions of the Red Rose Girls’ artwork and wonderful archival photographs bring these women and their milieu to life. 175 illustrations, 60 in full color, 8 1/2 x 11″ ALICE A. CARTER is a professor at the School of Art and Design at San Jos State University. An award-winning illustrator who has done extensive work in the entertainment industry and in advertising, she is also the author of The Art of National Geographic.