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Exhibition Drawn to Purpose

Elizabeth Shippen Green (1871–1954). Life Was Made for Love and Cheer, 1904. Published in "The Red Rose," Harper's Magazine, September 1904. Watercolor and charcoal. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (003.00.00)
LC–DIG–ppmsc–04735
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Personal and Professional

When Elizabeth Shippen Green created this illustration to accompany Henry Van Dyke's poem, "Inscriptions for a Friend's House," she took a line from it as her title and drew upon her personal life for inspiration. Her stunningly designed, richly detailed watercolor includes a self-portrait with her equally talented colleagues Jessie Willcox Smith and Violet Oakley on the grounds of the home they shared.