Rose O'Neill
Kewpie dolls and kewpie illustrations have been a part of our culture for nearly a century. Their creator, Rose O'Neill lived just outside of Branson, Missouri in a home called Bonniebrook. Her creations and her lifestyle have earned her a place in the Ozarks Hall of Fame.
Rose was born on June 25, 1874, in Pennsylvania. Three years later her family moved to Nebraska where Rose grew up. At the age of fourteen she won a prize in a drawing contest sponsored by the local paper. The contest judges questioned whether a child so young could actually draw the pictures she had submitted but relented when she was able to reproduce the pictures as they watched. At nineteen Rose went to New York to study art and was soon writing and illustrating for magazines like Harper's Weekly and Collier's. While she was in New York her family moved to Taney County and set up house in a rough cabin on a remote creek. When Rose came to visit, she was impressed by the beauty of the countryside and built her family a large new house named Bonniebrook.
Rose married Gray Latham in 1896, but the unhappy marriage ended in divorce in 1901. She married Harry Leon Wilson a year later. Harry was also a writer and the two spent a great deal of time traveling around the world. They maintained homes in New York, Connecticut, and in Italy on the Isle of Capri. However, this marriage also resulted in divorce in 1908. Rose returned to her Ozarks home and entered a period of great creativity.
The first Kewpie illustrations appeared in 1909. Rose said that the elf-like creatures came to her in a dream. She was soon hard-pressed to keep up with their burgeoning popularity. The first Kewpie doll was produced in 1912 and hit the market the next year. Their success allowed Rose to become financially independent and she again traveled between homes in New York, Connecticut, and Italy. But she always returned to Bonniebrook, coming home for good in 1937. A series of strokes beset her and Rose died on April 6, 1944. She is buried on the grounds of Bonniebrook, which has been restored and is open as a Rose O'Neill museum today.
Rose's work encompassed more than the Kewpies. She published a book of poetry and four novels. Her "serious" works of art were exhibited worldwide. She sculpted larger than life statues based on mythology and created a new fashion with her unusual dress of a one-piece mantle and sandals. Rose's freethinking approach to her life and her career is credited with opening doors for other women, both in the Ozarks and around the country.
Works Consulted
Angus, Fern. "Rose O'Neill." In the Heart of Ozark Mountain Country. Ed. Frank Rueter. Reeds Spring, MO: White Oak Press, 1992, pp. 122-24.
O'Neill, Rose. The Story of Rose O'Neill: an Autobiography. Ed. Miriam Formanek-Brunell. Columbia: University of Missouri P, 1997.
Photograph of Rose O'Neill from Godsey Collection, Lyons Memorial Library, College of the Ozarks
