Let’s dive a little bit deeper into Grace Drayton’s family life. Grace’s first name was actually Viola. She was the third daughter of George Gebbie. George Gebbie was known to be Philadelphia’s first art printer. A legend in their family claims that his first wife and their children actually were drowned in a shipwreck. This was told by great granddaughter Janet Hayes Austin. In 1862 George emigrated from Scotland. He later found himself in Quebec and working in upstate New York for a brief period of time. When he arrived in Philadelphia, he listed his occupation as a bookseller in his immigration papers. He became a citizen of the United States in the year 1869. Him and his second wife’s religion was juristically different. George was a Scots Presbyterian and his wife, Mary Jane Fitzgerald was a strict Catholic. This potentially put their marriage at risk even though there is no evidence it actually effected it. Grace and her siblings all intended catholic school while her dad worked. In 1867, George became an entrepreneur in the subscription publishing field. He later leveraged his Scottish background to enter the art printing business. He eventually “retired” in 1880 and fled to Europe with intentions of living there. Use the phrase retired loosely because he later returned to the states and went straight back to work. Grace had six siblings, five sisters and one brother. Her sisters were also artistically inclined but her brother lacked this component. Her father was known for The Illustrated Catalogue of the Masterpieces of the International Exhibition, The Illustrated History of Rome, and The Art Gallery of the Exhibition. George must have been very well educated. He had a library and in it were many complex reads. Grace, and the rest of her siblings, grew up in this environment so it is easy to see how influenced they were in the realm of art publishing and illustration. She was about fifteen when he died in the year 1892. She was old enough to encapsulate the work he did throughout her life. Her mother just began to run the business when her husband died. She later died while giving birth in the year 1893. She was 24. Her brother the inherited their family business. Her brother was also named George. He tended to live in the shadow of his talented sisters. He eventually was the cause of the family business going bankrupt. He laundered money for organized crime in 1907. There is no way anyone in the family would have seen this coming. George, the father, was a super honest guy especially when it came to his business. He would not put up with his son’s behavior. You could say Grace embodied her dad when it came to the amount of work and time she had put into her illustrations. Grace was the most superior sister and niece within her family. Each sister learned from the other. Within their family, the drawing skills and ideas were passed down from generation to generation. Her mother had a strict Catholic upbringing. This may have had an influence on Grace and her comic strips. It may be the reason as to why her comic strips had such a moralistic approach. Grace had married two men throughout her life, Theodore Wiederseim and W. Drayton. Because they group up so Catholic, her family saw her divorces as scandalous. She attended the Philadelphia School of Design for Women in 1895. Robert Henri was her teacher. Fun fact is that she enrolled into the school with Grace as her first instead of Viola. The class she took there was an antiques class. Robert Henri was once one of the most influential teachers at the time. He only taught the most talented students. This school is meant to provide preparation for women and their success in their careers working with industrial design. Grace was already talented before she entered this school so there is no way to tell if it actually provided that much preparation for what was to come in her future. There is no record of her graduating with her 1894 class or ever actually. This is interesting being that she was so successful. Growing up in the time that Grace was, art was in the domain for males only. Not many females dabbled in this field. Moving on form PDSW, it is on file that Grace attended what is now Drexel University. She studied with Clifford P. Grayson who taught oil painting.
Grace Drayton was very significant in the world of comics being that she was a woman in this field at a time where it was predominantly male. This era being the early twentieth century. Grace Drayton was a trendsetter for the rest of women to become a part of the comic art field. At the level of her success while being a female artist and illustrator during this era, she really broke down the walls and paved the way for other women to have a voice in this field of study. Her creation of the Campbell Soup Kids left a long lasting impact on her and other characters still being created today. Ever since 1904, the year they were created, they became iconic figures in American advertising. The chunky, red rosy cheeked, side glaring look children she created, that later became dolls and other collectables, she created for the Campbell Soup Company to use in their advertisements were immediately popular. Everyone associated her talents and characters with Campbell Soup. They were very popular, so popular that even people today associate Campbell Soup with her comical children. She was also very versatile in the way she drew. Her range was anywhere from the cute little charming childhood illustrations to a more sophisticated type of work. With this type of diversity, she was able to reach many different audiences. A very smart idea that only contributed to her success. She reflected the amazing things about childhood and being a woman through her comic strips. She captured relatable and heartfelt experiences from a person’s everyday life. It was easy to tel that she wanted her comic strips to be lighthearted and that she wanted to celebrate childhood and show the women’s roles.