| about Edith Ballinger Price |
christian gollub
first published in &c., the Redwood Library and Athenaeum newsletter,
Volume III, Number 2 (Winter/Spring 1998, pp. 8-9.)
EDITH BALLINGER PRICE, an
illustrator, painter, and writer, who died in
Virginia on September 29, 1997, was born on
April 26, 1897. The daughter of William F.
and Eleanor R. Richards Price and the
granddaughter of the well-known 19th-century
American artist William Trost Richards, she
lived most of her life in Newport, a place she
always considered home. She wrote to &c.
associate editor Linda Gordon in 1989, "I feel
as though I have been away from Home a
long time .... Among all the Newport changes,
I'm glad the Redwood stands firm." She was a
Redwood shareholder from 1956 until her
departure from Newport in 1962. (The share
she acquired had belonged to her mother, who
had held it since 1920; prior to that the share
had been owned by Redwood Librarian
Richard Bliss.)
Miss Price described her pen-and-ink
Redwood Library drawing (at left) of 1929 as
"one of a series of historic Newport post cards
that I did back in the 20s and 30s. I called
them 'Historicards' -- they were quite popular
and sold well. Never thinking that they might
become as popular as they did, I carelessly
neglected to copyright them -- and in the
quarter century that has passed since I left
Newport, some of them were pirated in
various ways, without my knowledge or
sanction (my fault)." Several of these
illustrator, painter, and writer, who died in
Virginia on September 29, 1997, was born on
April 26, 1897. The daughter of William F.
and Eleanor R. Richards Price and the
granddaughter of the well-known 19th-century
American artist William Trost Richards, she
lived most of her life in Newport, a place she
always considered home. She wrote to &c.
associate editor Linda Gordon in 1989, "I feel
as though I have been away from Home a
long time .... Among all the Newport changes,
I'm glad the Redwood stands firm." She was a
Redwood shareholder from 1956 until her
departure from Newport in 1962. (The share
she acquired had belonged to her mother, who
had held it since 1920; prior to that the share
had been owned by Redwood Librarian
Richard Bliss.)
Miss Price described her pen-and-ink
Redwood Library drawing (at left) of 1929 as
"one of a series of historic Newport post cards
that I did back in the 20s and 30s. I called
them 'Historicards' -- they were quite popular
and sold well. Never thinking that they might
become as popular as they did, I carelessly
neglected to copyright them -- and in the
quarter century that has passed since I left
Newport, some of them were pirated in
various ways, without my knowledge or
sanction (my fault)." Several of these
drawings were shown in the "Tercentenary Exhibition: The History of Newport in Pictures" at the Art
Association of Newport in 1939. A charter member of the Art Association, Miss Price served on its
council for 28 years. Fascinated with Newport's history, she lectured about and worked for the
preservation of the city's colonial architecture, while celebrating it in her art work.
In an autobiographical sketch in The Junior Book of Authors (1934), Miss Price said she began
drawing as a child to illustrate imaginary stories or those she was reading. She fondly recalled "Winters at
a little school in Newport, and long summers among the lakes ... [and] the Rhode Island shore." At the
age of 14, she went to study at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and later went to the
National Academy of Design in New York.
At 18 Miss Price decided it was time to become a professional illustrator. "Thinking that editors might
be impressed with what an accurate illustrator I was if I sent a story to demonstrate how well my
pictures fitted," she wrote, "I sat down and wrote one. Then came the surprise that more or less altered
by entire existence! The story was Blue Magic, and when St. Nicholas calmed down a bit from its
enthusiasm over the text, it remembered vaguely that -- yes, there had been some sort of pictures sent
with the manuscript. So my doom was sealed. From that time on, I had to write books .... I kept vainly
protesting that I was an artist, not a writer -- and just to keep me quiet, my pictures were used as
illustrations to my books, quite as a side-issue ...." She added: "To illustrate one's own books is great
fun, because of course the author has a truer idea of all the characters than any outside illustrator can
possibly have .... Apart from writing yarns, I am interested in Girl Scouting, and for a number of years
[1925-1930] was 'Great Brown Owl,' or national head of the Brownies, the younger branch of the Girl
Scouts, which I helped to start in this country ...."
Miss Price was obviously fond of children. "My greatest excitement and interest," she stated, "is
centered about my adopted daughter, who is blind [blind children appear in a number of her works], and
who has lived with me since she was a baby of two. Now, at sixteen she is a delightful companion, who
can accompany my fiddle with the piano, and read to me in Latin should I desire such stimulating
entertainment!"
Association of Newport in 1939. A charter member of the Art Association, Miss Price served on its
council for 28 years. Fascinated with Newport's history, she lectured about and worked for the
preservation of the city's colonial architecture, while celebrating it in her art work.
In an autobiographical sketch in The Junior Book of Authors (1934), Miss Price said she began
drawing as a child to illustrate imaginary stories or those she was reading. She fondly recalled "Winters at
a little school in Newport, and long summers among the lakes ... [and] the Rhode Island shore." At the
age of 14, she went to study at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and later went to the
National Academy of Design in New York.
At 18 Miss Price decided it was time to become a professional illustrator. "Thinking that editors might
be impressed with what an accurate illustrator I was if I sent a story to demonstrate how well my
pictures fitted," she wrote, "I sat down and wrote one. Then came the surprise that more or less altered
by entire existence! The story was Blue Magic, and when St. Nicholas calmed down a bit from its
enthusiasm over the text, it remembered vaguely that -- yes, there had been some sort of pictures sent
with the manuscript. So my doom was sealed. From that time on, I had to write books .... I kept vainly
protesting that I was an artist, not a writer -- and just to keep me quiet, my pictures were used as
illustrations to my books, quite as a side-issue ...." She added: "To illustrate one's own books is great
fun, because of course the author has a truer idea of all the characters than any outside illustrator can
possibly have .... Apart from writing yarns, I am interested in Girl Scouting, and for a number of years
[1925-1930] was 'Great Brown Owl,' or national head of the Brownies, the younger branch of the Girl
Scouts, which I helped to start in this country ...."
Miss Price was obviously fond of children. "My greatest excitement and interest," she stated, "is
centered about my adopted daughter, who is blind [blind children appear in a number of her works], and
who has lived with me since she was a baby of two. Now, at sixteen she is a delightful companion, who
can accompany my fiddle with the piano, and read to me in Latin should I desire such stimulating
entertainment!"
| from the collection of Redwood Library |
| A complete bibliography of works by Edith Ballinger Price may be found in &c., (Winter/Spring, 1998, Volume III, Number 2, p. 9.) |