©Public Domain
In published interviews Jessie Willcox Smith, Elizabeth Shippen Green, and Violet Oakley all denied using photographic references for their paintings and spoke eloquently about how they selected their models and drew only from life. However, many reference photographs that the three artists used to help them in their work have survived. For her drawings for the book Rebecca Mary, Elizabeth Green carefully posed models, collected props, and constructed costumes. Using photographic material freed the artists from having to hire models to sit for many hours—a process that dictated a passive pose. A much better result could be achieved using photographs.
