Saturday, October 29, 2011

Albertine Randall Wheelan - On to the Feast

Triptych


The Gallery needs more information on Artist Albertine Randall Wheelan. Her print currently hangs in the gallery.


This is all we could find on the internet:

Albertine Randall Wheelan was born in San Francisco May 27, 1863. She was the youngest of the four children of Albert Gallatin Randall of Eliot, Maine and Anne Augusta Frost Soule of Phillips, Maine. Her father died when she was very young and her family was left in constrained circumstances. At the age of sixteen, upon graduation from San Francisco Girls High School, her unusual artistic talents were quickly commercialized.

She developed a profitable business preparing name place cards for the many fashionable formal dinners then in vogue. When she had earned enough to afford tuition, she applied and was accepted to the San Francisco School of Design. Her work was encouraged by the Dean of the school, artist Virgil Williams. Mr. Williams became a mentor to the young student and was "a great artist and like a second father to me". He brought her to the attention of the Bohemian Club in San Francisco w she began to supply a steady demand for place cards, posters, and commemorative menu covers all the while keeping up with a demanding course of study at the School of Design.


She also started to do magazine illustrations for "Harper's Bazaar," "Harper's Young People," and "St. Nicholas." The artist married San Francisco businessman, Fairfax Henry Wheelan, (Harvard, 1880) in San Francisco May 18, 1887. The couple had two sons, Edgar Stow Wheelan and Fairfax Randall Wheelan. Edgar Wheelan was to become the nationally syndicated cartoonist Ed Wheelan, who created the comic strip "Minute Movies" and is given credit for helping to bring day-to-day continuity to newspaper comic pages.



Mrs. Wheelan may have been one of the earliest female cartoonists. She created and drew a daily comic strip titled "In Rabbitboro" which was in syndication 1927-1928. From 1880 to 1910, Mrs. Wheelan continued to illustrate for magazines and children's books for numerous publishers including G. Schirmer, E P Dutton, and Ernest Lister of London. In this period, she also designed a large number of personalized bookplates.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have very same print and frame. Neat piece..

Susan said...

We have the same prints, but they're in 3 separate frames. They'd originally belonged to my husband's great-aunt.

Anonymous said...

I also have the same drawing as a triptych in a heavy oak frame. It is so precise, I can't find any traces of polygraphy, looks like original watercolor in Sienna paint even under strong magnifying glass. I find it on the flea market in Connecticut near Litchfield.

Anonymous said...

The sizes are 10X10 inches for the side drawings and 10X62,1/2 for the central one. It is done on watercolor cotton paper.

Jeff said...

I have the same but in three pieces in one long frame. The back has a label with title of On To The Feast and finish of Hollywood Carbon. It gives the artist's name and price. However the price cannot be deciphered. Any idea of current value is appreciated.

Unknown said...

Hi there..I was wondering if you ever got an estimate on the value.

John Debold said...

No I did not. I would love to know the value.

Sorry .

John

Lancaster’s said...

I have the same one came out of a 1890 brick home in Portland Maine was in the attic wrapped in a blanket would like to know value as well

Lancaster’s said...

I have the same one came out of a 1890 brick home in Portland Maine was in the attic wrapped in a blanket would like to know value as well

Maggie Thompson said...

Albertine Randall Wheelan (May 27, 1863-January 7, 1954, age 90) Lambiek calls her “one of the earliest female cartoonists.” She had been the official costume designer for David Belasco and drew the daily In Rabbitboro strip (May 1922-October 1, 1927), later named The Dumbunnies.
https://strippersguide.blogspot.com/2018/08/

Albertine’s son Ed Wheelan (April 7, 1888-August 11, 1966) created Minute Movies, which Lambiek calls “a groundbreaking comic strip takeoff on the silent movie era.” His Midget Movies was created for Hearst in 1918, but he left Hearst and then began Minute Movies.

I have a variant version of the print in a 12"x55" frame with no matting. I'm guessing I can't post a jpg here ...