Women's History: Mid-20th Century Female Illustrators

For several years, I've followed Today's Inspiration, a daily post of wonderful '40s and '50s illustrations and lots of information about the artists.   I spend a lot of time at the computer and when I take a break I like to use the other side of my brain. The illustrations fascinate me. They serve as windows into the past as they illustrate stories and sell products.

How appropriate can it be for Women's History Month? -- Leif Peng, the force behind Today's Inspiration, has started a companion blog, Female Illustrators of the Mid-20th Century.

Last week I received, once again, a comment from a reader asking "what about the female illustrators of the mid-20th century?" This is something that comes up again and again, despite my efforts to feature women artists as often as possible. It made me realize that I haven't done enough to get the word out.

Today's Inspiration: Barbara Bradley: A Female Illustrator You Should Know: "Multi-part posts previously presented on TI will be collected and 'reprinted' as single, full-length posts. In this way, I hope FIotM-20C will become a valuable resource for those specifically interested in finding artwork examples and documentation on the careers of female illustrators from the '40s, '50s and '60s."

 So, here's women's history of a different sort -- How the media portrayed women and what it was like to be one of the few women illustrators working during the mid-20th century.

Take a break, relax, enjoy and reflect on both of these great blogs -- or click on over the the full size scans on the flickr sites.

Today's Inspiration

Female Illustrators of the Mid-20th Century

Thanks, Leif!