Girl with White Bow by Harrison Fisher

Girl with White Bow by Harrison Fisher

Created in 1908, published in 1910

Color Lithograph

This elegant watercolor and ink illustration by the prominent American illustrator Harrison Fisher is a classic representation of early 20th-century fashion portraiture. Signed and dated 1908 on the left, the piece depicts a delicate bust-length portrait of a stylish young woman, capturing the idealized beauty of the era. She is turned in a three-quarter view, looking off toward the right with a serene and composed expression characterized by flushed cheeks and a subtle smile. Her voluminous, wavy dark hair is styled in a classic Edwardian bouffant updo, accented by a broad, light-colored ribbon tied in a prominent bow across the top of her head. She wears an elegant off-the-shoulder gown featuring soft, fluid drapery and subtle decorative patterns suggested through light, sketchy linework. The central image is beautifully preserved on a heavy cream paper stock, encased within an ornate, blind-debossed geometric and floral border that enhances its presentation as a collectible print.

Born in Brooklyn to a multi-generational family of artists, Harrison Fisher (1875 to 1934) trained at the San Francisco Art Association before rising to absolute prominence in New York as a master magazine illustrator. Alongside contemporaries like Charles Dana Gibson and Howard Chandler Christy, Fisher defined the commercial aesthetic of the 1910s and 1920s, ultimately creating nearly every cover for Cosmopolitanmagazine from 1913 until his death. This specific 1908 piece is a prime, early example of his celebrated "Fisher Girl," the animated, graceful, and fashionable archetype that became the ultimate epitome of American female beauty during the pre-war period. This series of images captures the transition of Edwardian high fashion into mainstream media, demonstrating Fisher’s remarkable ability to illustrate intricate contemporary textiles, like sheer veils and bold plaids, with immense commercial appeal. Furthermore, given that a relative tragically burned approximately 800 of Fisher's original paintings upon his death, surviving period prints and originals from this peak era remain vital, scarce visual records of early 20th-century American illustration history.

Dimensions: H 10 ¾” x 7 ¼” W

Condition: In very good condition