Project Description
What do you think you would look like as a doll?
This collection of paper dolls and dresses were made in 1898 by American artist and feminist activist Emily Grace Hanks when she was only twelve years old. The tiny waists, ballooning sleeves, and luxurious fabric of these paper dresses reflect common fashion trends among nineteenth century women. The longevity of Mattel’s Barbie doll proves that dress-up dolls have remained a timeless activity. However, because paper dolls are so inexpensive and customizable, they are an inherently more inclusive toy which reflects how each young artist understands expressions of gender and identifies themselves within society.
Emily Grace Hanks grew up to be a “cartoon” illustrator at Herter Looms and an art professor at Pratt Institute in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York. During her tenure as an Instructor of Anatomy and Figure Drawing, Hanks’ perfected and patented art tools such as cardboard head forms, which served as a sculptural base for artists to reference when drawing the human form. The thick paper of the head forms were cut out and combined to create a three-dimensional shape. Interestingly, the creative process of constructing her paper fashion dolls as a young artist may have informed Hanks’ later professional inventions for art education.
– Dante Stewart, Class of 2023