Background
The artist Hilary Knight is her son and he says that his most famous image of Eloise was inspired by one of his mother"s paintings. She was born in Chicago in 1890 and she studied at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago.
The artist Hilary Knight is her son and he says that his most famous image of Eloise was inspired by one of his mother"s paintings. She was born in Chicago in 1890 and she studied at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
She illustrated books, ceramics and magazines as well as designing jewelry. Her early work included illustrating children"s books for P. F. Volland Company of Chicago. Between 1913 and 1921, she created several examples including Short Stories of Musical Melodies.
She was sent to Japan to study oriental art and she used this experience when she published Little Pictures of Japan in 1925.
Sturges married Clayton Knight, who was a World War One pilot that went on to become an illustrator and writer They occasionally worked together as they did on fabric designs and on two "We Were There" books
Sturges illustrated a range of books, but she also created fashion drawings for Harper"s Bazaar. She took on a range of work that included advertising artwork for McCullum hosiery and silver designs by Oneida Limited.
Sturges also created fabric and jewellery designs that were inspired by Peruvian culture after she was sent by the department store, Macy"s, to South America.
One of the more unusual commissions was a toile decorated with pictures from the career of President Eisenhower which is used at the United States Presidents guest residence Blair House. Katherine and Clayton Knight had two sons, Clayton Joseph Knight, born in 1924 and Hilary Knight, born in 1926. Hilary was also to become a writer and illustrator.
He is best known for illustrating the Eloise books
Hilary says that he based the image for Eloise on a painting that his mother had made in the 1930s. Clayton Joseph died in 1963.
Dodge died in New York City in 1979 after a long illness.