Rose O’Neill

Born in a so-called “Emerald Cottage” in Wilkes-Barre, the groundbreaking artist Rose O’Neill helped to define the power of comics, both financially and socially. With a definitive feminine sensibility and strength, Rose would go on to become a very successful woman in a professional world that was dominated by men. She grew up in poverty, but her parents instilled her with a love for the arts, and they encouraged Rose to pursue a creative path.

For the majority of O’Neill’s childhood, she lived with her family in Nebraska, which is where her first dive into artistic expression came about. As a teenager, she won a drawing competition — to the amazement of the judges — and would later pursue illustration in New York. Her big break did eventually come in the form of a comic, “The Old Subscriber Calls,” which appeared in an 1896 issue of Truth magazine. This was no ordinary feat. O’Neill became, in that issue, the first American woman to have a published comic strip to her name.

In the following years, O’Neill worked for Puck magazine, and contributed illustrations to other high-profile publications such as Harper’s, Cosmopolitan, and Life. O’Neill was a self-taught and efficient artist, and she had the unique ability to illustrate in both her own style, and those of her contemporaries. Through her illustration work, O’Neill helped her family gain some long-desired financial stability.

The O’Neill family homestead was a gorgeous site in southern Missouri, an estate that became known as “Bonniebrook,” a title coined by Rose herself. Rose was inspired by the serenity of the space and the surrounding woods, and she retreated to Bonniebrook when her first marriage failed. Her second marriage, while not successful in the long-term, did provide some artistic progress, as Rose drew illustrations for books written by her husband Harry Leon Wilson. An author herself, O’Neill published her first novel, The Loves of Edwy, in 1904.

By 1909, O’Neill developed a strong interest in cherubic-like figures, and she claimed that these figures came to her in dreams. From that near obsessive interest sprouted O’Neill’s greatest creation: the Kewpie comics, which debuted in Ladies’ Home Journal. Symbolic of happiness and charity, the Kewpies eventually turned into a marketing phenomenon. Most notably, dolls based on the Kewpies became one of the first mass-marketed toys in the United States. O’Neill herself oversaw the development of the dolls, and the Kewpie branding would later be used on everything from household items to food products.

O’Neill was, at the height of her powers, the highest-paid female illustrator in the world. She drew advertisements for Jell-O, Colgate, and Kellogg's, and illustrated for other writers. Her output included thousands of pieces, and she used her significant wealth to buy homes in the United States and Europe. O’Neill’s work was broadly fantastical — as seen in her “Sweet Monster” pieces — and she learned to sculpt in Paris, where she lived for the bulk of the 1920s. Her most famous sculpture was “The Embrace of the Tree.” In addition, O’Neill was a prolific writer, with many of her books prominently featuring the Kewpies.

O’Neill was a major player in the New Woman feminist movement, especially in regards to the push for women's suffrage. She worked in an unashamedly progressive manner, frequently using the Kewpies in suffrage art, and illustrated posters on behalf of the National Woman Suffrage Association. Other causes championed by O’Neill, personally and in her art, included racial and financial equality, and anti-war movements.

O’Neill’s fortune eventually evaporated, though a portion of it went to young artists in need of funds and equipment. Her charitable spirit was especially felt back in the Missouri community around Bonniebrook, where she passed away in 1944. O’Neill was buried at Bonniebrook, and the site now features a replica of the original structure, which is maintained by the Bonniebrook Historical Society. In addition to being listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Bonniebrook now serves as a tribute to O’Neill’s life and artistic endeavors.

Exhibitions related to O’Neill’s work have continued long after her passing, including a 2023 exhibit at Wilkes University’s Sordoni Art Gallery. Elsewhere, she is the subject of the International Rose O'Neill Club Foundation, and has been inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. In 2022, she was recognized for her contributions to comics at San Diego Comic Con as an inductee into the Eisner Awards Hall of Fame. A trailblazer in every sense of the word, Rose O’Neill’s legacy stands amongst the most important in artistic and social progress.