Rose O'Neill

Rose O'Neill and her Kewpie dolls, mid 1910s.

Rose Cecil O'Neill (June 25, 1874 - April 6, 1944)

Rose O'Neill was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on June 25, 1874. The second of seven children, she was encouraged to pursue the arts by her parents, William Patrick and Alice Asenath "Meemie" Smith O'Neill. Rose loved to draw and her Papa would leave specially sharpened pencils and blank paper around the house for her. When Rose was 14 years old, she entered a children's drawing contest sponsored by the Omaha World Herald and won first prize. A few years later, Rose went to New York City on her own and stayed with the Sisters of St. Regis. She brought a portfolio of 60 drawings with her and sold all of them within three months! While still a teenager, Rose O'Neill became the highest paid female illustrator in the United States.

While Rose went to New York, her father homesteaded a small tract of land in the Ozarks wilderness and relocated his family. The homestead had a 'dog-trot' cabin--two log cabins with a sort of breezeway in-between. One cabin was used for eating and living, the other for sleeping. The O'Neills tried their hand at farming. It was a year before Rose saw the beautiful place that was to become her beloved Bonniebrook. While in Omaha, Rose met a handsome young Virginian named Gray Latham. He visited Rose (under the watchful eyes of the nuns) and continued writing Rose when she went to Missouri to see her family. Gray went to Mexico to make films for his father's invention, a moving picture machine, all the while worrying about Rose being in the middle of nowhere. He finally came to Bonniebrook and took Rose back to New York, where they were married, in 1896.

Rose was very concerned with the welfare of her family. The money that Rose made while on staff at Puck magazine was always sent home to her parents. With it, her dad, brothers and neighborhood craftsmen built a 14-room mansion in the middle of nowhere.

Rose became very unhappy with Gray. He was a man that liked 'living large'. He gambled, was known as a playboy, and had very expensive tastes. On several occasions, Rose would find that Gray had taken her paychecks and spent them on himself. She left him once and then returned after his promise to leave her paychecks for her family. After a few months of being blissfully happy again, she went to collect her wages, only to find that Gray had been to the paymaster earlier and hadn't left her enough money for cab fare! She took the train from New York to Springfield, Missouri, where her dad met her at the station. They went to the Taney County courthouse, where Rose filed for divorce in 1901 and decided to stay on at Bonniebrook.

A few months later, Rose began receiving anonymous letters and gifts in the mail. It turned out that the wonderful letters were coming from a man that was an assistant editor at Puck magazine. Rose and Harry Leon Wilson had never been formally introduced, but they had seen each other. Rose remembered Harry as a 'surly man', but was so taken with his heartfelt letters that she married him in 1902. After a honeymoon in Colorado (where Harry would go for days without speaking to Rose) they moved to Bonniebrook where they lived for the next several winters. While they were together Harry wrote a novel for the first three years they were married and Rose drew the illustrations. One of Harry's later novels became a great success, RUGGLES OF RED GAP, being made into several motion pictures: a silent movie; a 'talkie' with Charles Laughton, and then a remake--"Fancy Pants" with Lucille Ball and Bob Hope. With Harry's sullen moods and Rose's bubbly personality, they eventually divorced in 1907, but stayed friends until Harry's death.

Rose came home to Bonniebrook, once again to heal her heart. She decided that marriage did not agree with her and concentrated on her artwork. She was in high demand in a field dominated by men. In 1909, in her 'treetop studio' Rose took an afternoon nap. While sleeping, she dreamt that little cupids were bouncing on her coverlet, one even sitting on her hand. When she awoke, she went immediately to her drawing board—and Kewpie characters were born!

Kewpie characters were loved the world over! Magazines with Kewpie character stories were sold out as soon as they hit the stands. In 1912, children from all over the world asked for a Kewpie character they could hold in their hands, so Rose found a German porcelain manufacturer that would make Kewpie dolls. She was very particular about the Kewpie characters—she wanted the tiniest doll the poor children would get to be just as beautiful as the larger Kewpie doll the rich children would receive. Rose and her sister, Callista, went to Germany to show the porcelain artists how to make the dolls the way she wanted them.

Rose became a legend. Known as the "Queen of Bohemian Society", she also became active in the cause for women's rights. By now, she owned Bonniebrook in the Ozarks; in Greenwich Village, New York, she had an apartment in Washington Square (the song "Rose of Washington Square" was written about her); Castle Carabas in Connecticut; and Villa Narcissus on the Isle of Capri, Italy. She was welcomed into the homes of royalty all over the world and was considered one of the world's five most beautiful women. She had self-made a fortune of 1.4 million dollars (approximately 15 million dollars in today's market). Her homes were furnished with beautiful antiques and splendid artwork: she denied herself, her family and her friends, nothing.

Rose continued working, even at her wealthiest. Perhaps driven by the unfortunate circumstances in her life to express herself, along with the needs of her family, she delved into different types of art. She learned sculpture at the hand of Rodin (The Thinker), and had several exhibitions of her "Sweet Monsters" in Paris and the United States. She held open salons in her Washington Square apartment where poets, actors, dancers and the 'great thinkers' of her day would gather. After her friends would leave, Rose would take out her drawing board, working until early the next morning.

In 1937, Rose came home to Bonniebrook to stay. Her beloved mother, Meemie, had died and Rose made Bonniebrook her sole residence.

By the 1940's, Rose had lost most of her money and her beautiful homes, much of it due to her extravagant nature. She had totally supported her family, as well as an entourage of 'artistic' hangers-on and her first husband. The Depression hurt Rose's fortune, as did World War I, when shiploads of Kewpie dolls coming from Germany were sank by the British. No longer was Rose the 'queen' of society. When she lost her fortune, most of her 'friends' disappeared as well.

Rose was dismayed to find that her work was no longer in demand. The Kewpie character phenomena, after 30 years of popularity was starting to fade. Photography, with the invention of the camera, was replacing illustrating as a commercial vehicle. Rose decided to make another doll. . . she needed a laugh. . . and created little Ho Ho, a laughing, baby Buddha. Before plans could be finalized for production of the new little figure, the factory burnt to the ground.

Despite her reversal of fortune, Rose became a prominent personality in the Branson area. She donated her time and pieces of artwork to the School of the Ozarks at Point Lookout, Missouri. She lectured at artist's workshops and continued to address women's groups.

In April of 1944, Rose O'Neill died at the home of her nephew in Springfield, Missouri. She is interred in the family cemetery at Bonniebrook, her beloved Ozarks home, next to her mother and several family members.

Further Reading