Nell Brinkley's World War I drawing shows a shower of young women on the left side floating down around Uncle Sam to offer their services for war work in Washington D.C. One the right side of the illustration, three women are encountering some of the typical problems of the day. One encounters a sign that says, "Apartment, No Dogs, Children or Girls." Brinkley was one of the most widely published illustrators in the early years of the century and she frequently focused on the problems confronting working women.

By the time she was 16, Nell Brinkley was earning money doing illustrations and cartoons for the Denver Post. She moved to New York at 18, drawn by the enticement of William Randolph Hearst. She began work with the New York Evening Journal and within a year began producing cartoons of "The Brinkley Girl", a stylish working girl that immediately became popular.

There were few women in cartooning and "The Brinkley Girl" appealed to many who enjoyed her beauty, poise, and style. Many of her illustrations had themes that supported suffrage goals such as good pay, pensions, and housing, particularly during WW I, as well as later.

Brinkley worked for Hearst papers for 31 years and attained such high celebrity that she licensed "The Brinkley Girl" image for women's products. During that time her cartoons also appeared in other popular magazines, such as Harper's, Cosmopolitan, and Good Housekeeping. She was a pioneer women in illustration and her innovative and stylish work still has great appeal.

Medium : 1 drawing : watercolor, ink, gouache, and opaque white over graphite underdrawing

Created/Published : 1918

Creator : Nell Brinkley, artist, 1886-1944

Part of the Cabinet of American Illustration and housed in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress

Availability: Usually ships on one week

Product #: ppmsca03341