Mabel Choate and Mrs. C. D. Gibson

A press photograph rather than a Life cartoon plate, this image nonetheless documents the social world Gibson's pen celebrated. Two women stand on a balustraded terrace, labeled in handwritten capitals: Mabel Choate at left, wearing a feathered hat and dark walking dress, her gloved hand resting on the arm of Mrs. C. D. Gibson—Irene Langhorne, the Virginia-born beauty widely credited as the original Gibson Girl. Irene's striped skirt and broad-brimmed hat are pure Edwardian fashion-plate. Choate was a Barnard trustee and League of Nations supporter; Irene's husband Charles Dana Gibson shaped how millions imagined American womanhood. The image carries no Life caption.