If you’re familiar with Ethel Reed, it’s likely because you are an enthusiast of late-19th-century American poster art or an art history scholar. After the age of 24, Reed, an exceptional female graphic artist of the 1890s, seemingly vanished from record. She briefly illuminated the landscape of the Art Nouveau movement, dazzling and ephemeral. Let’s delve deeper and uncover the mysteries surrounding Ethel Reed’s contributions to Art Nouveau and her intriguing life.
I cannot say that I have studied anywhere. When I was twelve years old I took some drawing lessons from Miss Laura C. Hills, but my inattention and rebelliousness caused her much vexation, although she took great pains with me and incited me to work.
A Chat with Miss Ethel Reed. The Bookman, Volume II, Number 4 (December 1895), p. 279.
Ethel Reed (1874–1912) was an American graphic designer and illustrator. Born on March 13, 1874, in Newburyport, Massachusetts, she showcased her budding talent by winning an award for a crayon drawing at the Essex County Agricultural Fair at just 12 years old. The promise of her artistic abilities drew the attention of Laura Coombs Hill, an illustrator from Newburyport, leading Reed to take drawing lessons under her guidance. In 1890, following her father’s passing, Reed and her mother relocated to Boston, and a few years later, she pursued miniature drawing at the Cowles Art School, though much of her skill was self-taught.
Laura Coombs Hill, Miss Ethel Reed, 1880, Wash and Chalk on Paper, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA.
I’m afraid you will think me an unaccountable sort of person, for all I can say is that when I have an idea I simply sit down to the paper, and the drawing and color come to me as I proceed… I think hard enough about it beforehand; but once I have the idea and get started, it takes very little trouble and time to finish the rest.
A Chat with Miss Ethel Reed. The Bookman, Volume II, Number 4 (December 1895), p. 279.
Reed became well-known after designing a series of posters for the Boston Sunday Herald in 1885, quickly solidifying her status as a leading figure in Boston’s vibrant artistic milieu. Over her brief career in Boston, she was incredibly productive, producing numerous book posters, cover designs, illustrations, and endpapers between 1895 and 1897, which earned her worldwide recognition during a time of poster mania.
Ethel Reed, Butterfly Thoughts, 1884, Illustration for St. Nicholas Magazine. HathiTrust Digital Library.
Ethel Reed, The Boston Sunday Herald: Ladies Want ItFeb. 24, 1895, magazine poster, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, USA.
Butterfly Thoughts
Reed’s first published work, an illustration for a magazine.
The Boston Sunday Herald: Ladies Want It Feb. 24
Reed’s first published poster.
Reed’s poster designs prominently featured feminine figures and intricate floral patterns, drawing inspiration from the French Art Nouveau and Japanese aesthetics. Her work was characterized by its effective use of line, akin to many other Art Nouveau creations that emphasize line quality. Depending on the theme, her posters could be bold and direct or soft and graceful. Notably, she frequently included typographic elements in her book posters, using clean serif fonts that remained clear against the vibrant backgrounds.
Ethel Reed, Boston Illustrated, book poster, 1895, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Washington, DC, USA.
Ethel Reed, A Virginia Cousin and Bar Harbor Tales, book poster, 1895, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA.
Ethel Reed, Miss Träumerei, book poster, 1895, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA.
Ethel Reed, The Penny Magazine, magazine poster, 1896, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, USA.
Boston Illustrated
The poster depicts a woman in a striped dress with long sleeves among trees, reading Boston Illustrated, with the Massachusetts State House in the background.
A Virginia Cousin and Bar Harbor Tales
Promotional poster for Mrs. Burton Harrison’s book, featuring a woman dressed in Gibson girl attire.
Miss Träumerei
Poster showing a woman playing the piano, with chrysanthemum blossoms in the foreground, exemplifying Art Nouveau.
The Penny Magazine
Magazine promotional poster infused with Art Nouveau aesthetics, featuring a woman in a beautiful gown holding a magazine.
In 1896, after ending a broken engagement, Reed traveled through Europe. She and her mother then moved to London, where she resumed her artistic endeavors. During this period, she completed several projects for the avant-garde British magazine The Yellow Book, but by 1898, she had completely disappeared from the records. Sadly, little is known about her later life. The Beautiful Poster Lady: A Life of Ethel Reed, written by William Peterson and published in 2013, recounts her struggles with poverty and her battles with addiction in her final years. Reed passed away at the age of 38.
Ethel Reed, The Yellow Book, cover design, 1897, Mark Samuels Lasner Collection, Newark, USA.
Throughout her brief yet impactful career, which spread across Boston’s artistic community like a shooting star, Reed was recognized as a highly talented artist of her era. She created a legacy of work that attained her a status as one of the most remarkable poster designers. Today, she remains one of the most elusive figures in American graphic design, with a majority of her creations housed in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Fred Holland Day, Photograph of Ethel Reed, 1895, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., USA.
Bibliography
“A Chat with Ethel Reed” The Bookman, Volume II, Number 4 (December 1895), pp. 277–281. Accessed March 16, 2022.
“Ethel Reed”, History, Newburyport. Accessed March 16, 2022.
“Ethel Reed, the Beautiful Poster Lady Who Disappeared”, New England Historical Society, March 21, 2021. Accessed March 16, 2022.
Clay Lancaster. “Oriental Contributions to Art Nouveau”, The Art Bulletin 34, no. 4 (1952): 297. Accessed March 16, 2022.
William S. Peterson. The Beautiful Poster Lady: A Life of Ethel Reed. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2013.
John Thorn. “Poster Girl”, Medium (blog), April 11, 2016. Accessed March 16, 2022.
Sloane Townsend. “Ethel Reed”, GD 203, April 8, 2019. Accessed March 16, 2022.
Helena E. Wright. “Ethel Reed and the Poster Craze”, Weblog, National Museum of American History (blog), March 23, 2015. Accessed March 16, 2022.
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