Charles Dana Gibson's Gibson Girl

Charles Dana Gibson's Gibson Girl

The Gibson Girl is seen as the ideal feminine beauty in the early 20th century. Charles Dana Gibson saw his portrait of the Gibson Girl as a composite sketch of all American girls, representing her, and all American women, with a slender waist and limbs combined with large breasts, hips, and butt. Through this image of the feminine ideal, Gibson creates a woman that is both respectable and voluptuous, without being too extreme in either direction. The wavy curls piled atop her head depict the Gibson Girl as relaxed and easy-going while also maintaining the fashion of the time. The Gibson Girl was seen as independent and calm, often depicted in a college setting; she was also drawn as being sexually dominant over men, but never pushes the boundaries of women’s perceived roles in society.

Charles Dana Gibson

ca. 1900

Minneapolis College of Art and Design Collection

Still Image