"Why Art and Women Don't Mix – By Howard Pyle" article, 1904

The Charlotte Harding collection contains correspondence, clippings and personal memorabilia, and illustration reproductions belonging to or created by the 20th century illustrator, Charlotte Harding Brown. Brown studied under Howard Pyle at the Drexel Institute, and many letters within the collection were written by Pyle to Harding. Other correspondence was written by fellow Pyle students Elizabeth Shippen Green and Sarah Stilwell Weber; authors Keene Abbott and Ellsworth Kelley; a number of businesses and publishing companies; and notably the Civil War veteran Octavius Longworth Pruden (1842-1902), who served as assistant secretary to several U.S. Presidents and dabbled in watercolors. His 1895 letter includes a small sample of one of his flower paintings.

The collection also includes a number of newspapers clippings related to Harding, some personal mementos and ephemera, and several original photographs depicting Harding and other artists, including (Harding’s classmates and friends) Blanche Dillaye, Richard Blossom Farley, William Glackens, Maxfield Parrish, Howard Pyle, and Alice Barber Stephens. The donor of the collection, Harding’s daughter Charlotte Adams Ganz, contributed notes providing additional biographical information, including a chronology of her mother’s life, which are included with this section of materials.

Finally, a large portion of the collection consists of reproductions of Harding’s illustrations, primarily print proofs, tear sheets, and illustration clippings. Items of particular interest include a calendar featuring Harding’s “Jock and Joan” illustrations, posters for the Plastic Club illustrated by Harding, and a copy of Harding’s “Strike Now!” advertisement illustration for N.W. Ayer and Son.