Easter 1909
Subject(s): Beauty, Personal, Easter, Easter lily, Irises (Plants), Psyche (Greek deity), Reflections, Vernal pools, Women's hats
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Psyche wears an Easter bonnet and admires her reflection in a small pool of water with irises and lilies.
Comments and Context
The back-story of Puck‘s Easter Issue’s cover is related to its year, 1909. The artist, Gordon Grant, was Puck‘s answer to Life Magazine’s Charles Dana Gibson, creator of the glamorous Gibson Girl. As “American Girls” began gracing the covers of virtually every magazine of every category at the time — drawn or painted by the likes of Gibson and Grant; James Montgomery Flagg; Coles Phillips; Howard Chandler Christy; C. Jay Taylor; Penrhyn Stanlaws; and others — Puck even got a little saucy with an Easter theme.
But Grant did not seek to titillate with a scantily-clad maiden. The obligatory humorous touch was an Easter bonnet on a wood nymph. But the context of the pose and woman herself was a famous painting whose popularity swept popular culture in nearly every aspect. Like the semi-scandalous September Morn two years later would create a sensation, the canvas by the German Academician Paul Thumann (1834-1908) had first been exhibited at the 1893 Columbian Exposition (World’s fair) in Chicago and was ubiquitous in prints, posters, cards, and on calendars. The original title addressed the Greek goddess, Psyche at Nature’s Mirror.
The makers of White Rock beverages purchased the rights to the image, added wings to the girl, and used the image — in hopes that purity was implied — in advertisements and label artwork for their bottled ginger ale and mineral water.
As the bottler added wings, Grant added an Easter bonnet, Puck saw to the inclusion of lilies, and the magazine had an Easter cover of attractive purity.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1909-04-07
Creator(s)
Period
African Safari (March 1909-1910)
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Page Count
1
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
Easter 1909. [April 7, 1909]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o291191. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Grant, Gordon, 1875-1962. Easter 1909. [7 Apr. 1909]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 13, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o291191.
APA:
Grant, Gordon, 1875-1962., [1909, April 7]. Easter 1909.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o291191.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 13, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
APA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
