Sarah S. Stilwell Weber

Provenance:
Private Collection, Virginia.

Literature:
The Saturday Evening Post, Philadelphia, July 23, 1921 (cover illustration).

Lot Essay:
A Pennsylvania native, Sarah S. Stilwell Weber studied under Howard Pyle at the Drexel Institute in Philadelphia, before setting up her own studio in nearby Delaware. Throughout her nearly three-decade long career, she produced work for a variety of publications such as the Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s, The Country Gentleman, Harper’s Bazaar and others, in addition to numerous book illustrations. Running from Waves, published on July 23rd, 1921, is the last illustration she made for a Saturday Evening Post cover, just a few years before ending her career in 1925.

Against her mentor’s urging, Stilwell Weber married in 1908 and her daughter Jane was born in 1909. It has been argued that motherhood deepened her affinity with the theme of childhood, which pervaded her entire oeuvre. Her portrayals of children engaged in active play amidst natural settings bring forth an uplifting vision of youth, replete with utter joy, innocence, and freedom. The dynamic composition of Running from Waves, with its depiction of a gentle surf lapping against an ecstatic little girl’s feet, elicits this exact sentiment.