Mary Ellen Sigsbee

Mary Ellen Sigsbee (1876–1960) was an American artist and magazine illustrator.

Mary Ellen Sigsbee
1899 portrait sketch
BornFebruary 26, 1876
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Died1960 (aged 83–84)
Woodstock, New York, United States
OccupationPainter, illustrator, artist
Spouse(s)William Balfour Ker, Anton Otto Fischer
Parent(s)

Early life

Sigsby was born in New Orleans,[1] on February 26, 1876,[2] one of four daughters of Charles D. Sigsbee, captain of the USS Maine during the Spanish–American War.[3][4]

Career
The New Hand

Sigsbee studied at the Arts Students League.[5] One of her paintings was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1908 - a feat achieved by few American women.[5]

A feminist and suffragist, Sisgbee designed posters for the American Woman Suffrage Association.[5][1] One of which, What breaks up the home? What will save the home? Votes for Women (circa 1917), is in the privately held Ann Lewis Women's Suffrage Collection.[6]

From 1909 to 1917, and from 1930 to 1932, she made illustrations for the Evening Journal.[5][7] Her painting The Christmas Peek was used as the Christmas 1934 cover of the Saturday Evening Post.[7] She also produced work for Harper's Magazine.[8]

A copy of her print The New Hand is in the National Child Labor Committee Collection of the United States Library of Congress.[9]

Personal life

Sigsbee was married twice. Her first marriage was to William Balfour Ker,[7] a fellow artist and socialist. The marriage was conducted against her father's wishes, after an 1898 elopement.[3] They first lived in Greenwich Village, but after a period working in Paris, the marriage failed[3] and they divorced in 1910.[7] They had a son, David (1906–1922).[10]

In 1912 she married the magazine illustrator Anton Otto Fischer.[7][10] They first lived in Bushnellsville, New York before moving to a house near the intersection of Elmendorf Street and Ten Broeck Avenue in nearby Kingston (the house still stands). They had a daughter, Katrina Sigsbee Fischer (1914–1998). The family eventually settled into a house off Glasco Turnpike in Woodstock, New York just prior to World War II.[11]

Sigsbee and both husbands were former students of illustrator Howard Pyle.[10] Her son David was adopted by Fischer.[10] During her marriages she used the names Sigsbee Ker and Sigsbee Fischer.[7]

Sigsbee died in 1960, at Woodstock.[1][4]

References
  1. "Mary Ellen Sigsbee". Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  2. "Fischer, Mary Ellen Sigsbee". Benezit Dictionary of Artists. 2011. doi:10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.b00064725. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  3. "William Balfour Ker - Artist Biography for William Balfour Ker". Ask Art. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  4. "Mary Ellen Sigsbee (Ker) Fischer - Artist, Fine Art Prices, Auction Records for Mary Ellen Sigsbee (Ker) Fischer". Ask Art. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  5. "Artist Biography for Mary Ellen Sigsbee (Ker) Fischer". Ask Art. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  6. "Poster : What breaks up the home? What will save the home? Votes for Women. [Circa 1917]". Ann Lewis Women's Suffrage Collection. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  7. "Ker, William Balfour". schoonoverstudios.com. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  8. "Mary Ellen Sigsbee". Harper's Magazine. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  9. "The new hand / Mary Ellen Sigsbee". Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  10. "Anton Otto Fischer". Illustration History. Norman Rockwell Museum. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  11. Andre Mele lecture on his great-uncle, Anton Otto Fischer, September 24, 2011 on YouTube, September 24, 2011
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