Frances Brundage, an artist of picture books and postcards

She was born Frances Isabelle Lockwood on June 28, 1854, to Rembrandt Lockwood (1815-1889) and Sarah Ursula Despeaux in Newark (NJ). Her father was an architect, portraitist, and miniaturist who also painted church murals. Frances showed artistic talent from an early age and received most of her knowledge from her father. There is no record about other (formal) education.

Her youth is unclear. There are several web pages (probably copying one from another) claiming her father left the family when Frances was 17 years old and she was practically forced to support the rest of the family (we don't know if there was anybody else apart from her and her mother) by her work. Yet there are documents showing Rembrandt was still living at the same address when she was 21. At this time, she was officially not employed.

Another unclear piece of info is about Rembrandt's disappearance around 1875 but his letter from 1884 doesn't support that claim. We know he had another daughter with a different surname: Helen Colburn, which means he could have a daughter with another woman who was not his wife. No matter what really happened with him, it's obvious Frances started working early (her first sale was a sketch from the poem of Louisa May Alcott sold to the author) and worked a lot (a lot!) until her death on March 28, 1932.

Illustration from Snow-White and Rose-Red, 1929

Frances married another artist William Tyson Brundage (1849-1923). They lived in Washington, D.C., and later moved to New York (NY). Their summer house was in Cape Ann (MA).

Frances used her husband's surname for almost all of her artistic career. She also occasionally collaborated with him on some projects, especially picture books, where competition was rough and dead-lines ruthless.

Illustration from Arabian Nights, 1893

Frances and Will had only one child. Frances gave birth to a daughter Mary Frances but the girl died being only 17 months old. Many believe this sad experience marked Frances' artistic development. She focused almost her entire career on portraits of children who had dreamy eyes, reddish cheeks, and somehow angelic appearances.

While her name today is a sort of trademark in the market of postcards, her initial career was in the picture book industry. Industrious she was indeed. Frances Brundage illustrated for Charles E. Graham & Company, De Wolfe, E.P. Dutton, Ernest Nister, Fred A. Stokes, Fiske & Company, Hayes & Koerner, Samuel Gabriel Company (Tuck U.S.), Saalfield, Stecher Lithographic Company, ...

It's next to impossible to count all the picture book projects in which she was involved. We know she illustrated most of the classic fairy tales including Grimm's and Andersen's Fairy tales and Arabian Nights, Heidi, classic works like Robin Hood, Treasure Island, Pinocchio, Robinson Crusoe, stories of King Arthur, Children's Shakespeare, etc. When she was over 60 years old she still illustrated about 20 books per year!

Illustration from Little Red Riding Hood, 1929

Frances Brundage made so many attractive illustrations for picture books the same publishers decided to use some of them for postcards as well. The market welcomed such creations and Frances was hired for creating designs for several themed cards. Her valentines, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and other postcards were an instant success, so she soon became one of the major postcard artists.

She was one of the first illustrators whose names were printed on book covers and postcards because her name was a guarantee for a good sale.

Calendars became a big business at the same time as postcards. Of course, Frances' skill was in demand in this area too. Many of her creations from the first decades of the 20th century are now valuable collectors' items.

Everything that could be printed and sold possessed additional value if Frances Brundage was involved. She created designs for paper dolls, fans, posters, and similar stuff on a large scale. She was fast, reliable, and her art was in demand right to her later years.

Postcards are the area where Frances Brundage really stands out. Her style was perfect for the evolving chromolithographic printing technique and the popularity of all kinds of cards was on the rise. Yet the major American publishers preferred more-known and established Maud Humphrey.

Well, the biggest postcard publishers in Europe thought differently. Raphael Tuck & Sons from London and Wolff Hagelberg from Berlin. The printing technology in Europe, especially in Germany was superb at those times, so the 'winner' was obvious. Frances Brundage soon became one of the most widely published postcard artists and designers in the world.

We can still find many of her picture postcards in the German language, but the same designs are also available in English thanks to the international business of both major publishers who hired Frances.

Thanks to her popularity in Europe, Frances Brundage became one of the most well-known artists in her homeland. Among collectors she still is.

If we need an artist to compare her with, Kate Greenaway would be my first choice thanks to the specific cloth both artists used for their pictures of children and their versatility. Ellen Clapsaddle would be a fair comparison due to her productivity in the field of postcards. If we are a bit more demanding, George Cruikshank could be compared with her due to stereotypes both artists were accused, but Cruikshank's work is today considered as over-the-edge and Frances Brundage's is not.

Original picture books illustrated by Frances Brundage can, depending on condition, achieve prices of several hundred dollars, and her postcards (depending on the series, circulation, and again, condition) can be sold for several dozens of dollars and collectors predict the price will rise in the future.

Image credits and more info about Frances Brundage