Dorothea Warren Fox
Dorothea Warren Fox (born January 31, 1914 in Birmingham; died July 22, 1999 in New Fairfield, Connecticut) was a commercial artist best known for her work on the first six editions of The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care by Benjamin Spock.
Dorothea, called "Dorothy," was the daughter of architect William Warren and his wife, Dorothea Orr Warren. The family moved into a house her father designed on Milner Street in 1925. She studied commercial art in college, but was forced to withdraw during the Great Depression. According to one source, she was the original artist of Ashton Collins' "Reddy Kilowatt" character for the Alabama Power Company.
She moved to New York City and found work as a window dresser for Macy's before establishing herself as an illustrator for the marketing firm of Ehrlich and Kenne. She drew the "Li'l Ivry" comic strips for Ivory Soap as well as advertising illustration's for Carter's baby clothes, the General Diaper Company, and Heinz Soup. She also worked as a book illustrator for Ginn & Company, which gave her the Spock assignment. Her work also appeared in numerous magazines, including Life and The Saturday Evening Post.
In 1941 she married fellow illustrator Charles Fox. The couple moved to New Fairfield where she raised a family and became active in civic affairs. She experimented with ceramics, and then wrote and illustrated a children's book, Miss Twiggly's Tree, in 1961. That was followed by Follow Me The Leader.
Fox died in 1999. She was survived by four children and six grandchildren. She is buried at Mountainview Cemetery in New Fairfield. The extensive property behind their former home was dedicated to the public as the Sweetcake Mountain Preserve.
References
- Rice, Rebecca Fox (n. d.) "Charles and Dorothea Warren Fox." American Art Archives - accessed July 27, 2015
External links
- Dorothea Warren Fox at Findagrave.com