Charles Dana Gibson in His Studio

Photographer Peter A. Juley captured Gibson — Life magazine's most celebrated illustrator and creator of the iconic 'Gibson Girl' — posed beside an easel and a large framed canvas in what appears to be his working studio. He stands in a dark suit and tie, one hand resting on the easel, the other in his pocket, looking directly at the camera with the composed authority of a man at the peak of his career. Decorative hangings fill the background. The portrait documents Gibson at the height of his cultural influence, when his pen-and-ink social comedies set the visual tone for American aspiration and defined feminine ideals for a generation of readers.