Lydia Gibson
Encyclopedia
Lydia Gibson was an American
socialist illustrator
who contributed work to The Masses
, The Liberator
, The Workers' Monthly, The New Masses, and other radical
publications.
, in which she was an activist. In the latter half of the 1910s, she began contributing her work to The Masses, a literary and artistic magazine with a distinct socialist orientation, published by Max Eastman
and his sister Crystal
in New York City
.
In conjunction with her work with The Masses, Gibson met and worked with many other prominent political artists of the day, including Boardman Robinson
, Art Young
, Hugo Gellert
, and Robert Minor
. The anarchist Texan
Minor fell in love with Gibson, but she initially declined the advances of the political cartoonist, whom she believed to still have been married.
After the Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917, Minor traveled to Soviet Russia
, where he became committed to the communist cause and subsequently foreswore his anarchist beliefs and joined the underground Communist Party of America. In August 1920 Gibson also "changed her mind a little," this over matters of the heart and wrote to Robert Minor, then amorously involved and living with radical journalist Mary Heaton Vorse
. Gibson signaled her intentions to Minor and eventually won his returned affection after the two had worked together in the offices of The Liberator in 1922. The two married in 1923.
In 1927, while in Moscow with her husband, who was the delegate of the American Communist Party to the Executive Committee of the Communist International
, Gibson assisted "Big Bill" Haywood
with the preparation of the first part of his memoirs. Gibson had to leave the Soviet Union
before the project was completed, however, and another individual who was a former member of the Industrial Workers of the World
, as was Haywood, helped complete the work. Haywood's autobiography was published posthumously in 1929.
In 1934, Gibson wrote and illustrated a children's book, The Teacup Whale, a tale which, while not explicitly radical, invited children to dream big dreams and to challenge the contrary opinions of doubters.
Gibson and Minor remained together until the latter's death of a heart attack in 1952.
in 1956. In 1962 she loaned the party $5,000 in US Treasury Bonds to bail out CPUSA General Secretary Gus Hall
from jail.
Lydia Gibson died in 1964.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
socialist illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
who contributed work to The Masses
The Masses
The Masses was a graphically innovative magazine of socialist politics published monthly in the U.S. from 1911 until 1917, when Federal prosecutors brought charges against its editors for conspiring to obstruct conscription. It was succeeded by The Liberator and then later The New Masses...
, The Liberator
The Liberator
The Liberator was an abolitionist newspaper founded by William Lloyd Garrison in 1831. Garrison published weekly issues of The Liberator from Boston continuously for 35 years, from January 1, 1831, to the final issue of January 1, 1866...
, The Workers' Monthly, The New Masses, and other radical
Political radicalism
The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...
publications.
Early years
Lydia Gibson was born in 1891, one of three daughters of English-born architect Robert W. Gibson. She grew up in prosperity but seems to have been radicalized in her 20s during the movement for women's suffrageWomen's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
, in which she was an activist. In the latter half of the 1910s, she began contributing her work to The Masses, a literary and artistic magazine with a distinct socialist orientation, published by Max Eastman
Max Eastman
Max Forrester Eastman was an American writer on literature, philosophy and society, a poet, and a prominent political activist. For many years, Eastman was a supporter of socialism, a leading patron of the Harlem Renaissance and an activist for a number of liberal and radical causes...
and his sister Crystal
Crystal Eastman
Crystal Catherine Eastman was a lawyer, antimilitarist, feminist, socialist, and journalist. She is best remembered as a leader in the fight for women's right to vote, as a co-editor of the radical arts and politics magazine The Liberator, and as a co-founder of the Women's International League...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
In conjunction with her work with The Masses, Gibson met and worked with many other prominent political artists of the day, including Boardman Robinson
Boardman Robinson
Boardman Robinson was a Canadian-American artist, illustrator and cartoonist.-Early years:Boardman Robinson was born September 6, 1876 in Nova Scotia, Canada. He spent his childhood in England and Canada, before coming to Boston in the first half of the 1890s...
, Art Young
Art Young
Arthur "Art" Young was an American cartoonist and writer. He is most famous for his socialist cartoons, especially those drawn for the left wing political magazine The Masses between 1911 and 1917.-Early Years:...
, Hugo Gellert
Hugo Gellert
Hugo Gellert was a Hungarian-American illustrator and muralist. A committed radical, much of Gellert's work is agitational in nature and distinctive in style, considered by some art critics as among the best political work of the first half of the 20th Century.-Early years:Hugo Gellert was born...
, and Robert Minor
Robert Minor
Robert Berkeley "Bob" Minor was political cartoonist, a radical journalist, and a leading member of the American Communist Party.-Early life:...
. The anarchist Texan
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
Minor fell in love with Gibson, but she initially declined the advances of the political cartoonist, whom she believed to still have been married.
After the Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917, Minor traveled to Soviet Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
, where he became committed to the communist cause and subsequently foreswore his anarchist beliefs and joined the underground Communist Party of America. In August 1920 Gibson also "changed her mind a little," this over matters of the heart and wrote to Robert Minor, then amorously involved and living with radical journalist Mary Heaton Vorse
Mary Heaton Vorse
Mary Heaton Vorse or Mary Heaton Vorse O'Brien was an American journalist, labor activist, and novelist. Vorse was outspoken and active in peace and social justice causes, such as women's suffrage, civil rights, pacifism , socialism, child labor, infant mortality, labor disputes, and affordable...
. Gibson signaled her intentions to Minor and eventually won his returned affection after the two had worked together in the offices of The Liberator in 1922. The two married in 1923.
In 1927, while in Moscow with her husband, who was the delegate of the American Communist Party to the Executive Committee of the Communist International
Executive Committee of the Communist International
The Executive Committee of the Communist International, commonly known by its acronym, ECCI, was the governing authority of the Comintern between the World Congresses of that body...
, Gibson assisted "Big Bill" Haywood
Bill Haywood
William Dudley Haywood , better known as "Big Bill" Haywood, was a founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World , and a member of the Executive Committee of the Socialist Party of America...
with the preparation of the first part of his memoirs. Gibson had to leave the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
before the project was completed, however, and another individual who was a former member of the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
, as was Haywood, helped complete the work. Haywood's autobiography was published posthumously in 1929.
In 1934, Gibson wrote and illustrated a children's book, The Teacup Whale, a tale which, while not explicitly radical, invited children to dream big dreams and to challenge the contrary opinions of doubters.
Gibson and Minor remained together until the latter's death of a heart attack in 1952.
Later life and death
Lydia Gibson remained loyal to the Communist Party even after the revelations of Nikita KhrushchevNikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
in 1956. In 1962 she loaned the party $5,000 in US Treasury Bonds to bail out CPUSA General Secretary Gus Hall
Gus Hall
Gus Hall, born Arvo Kustaa Hallberg , was a leader and Chairman of the Communist Party USA and its four-time U.S. presidential candidate. As a labor leader, Hall was closely associated with the so-called "Little Steel" Strike of 1937, an effort to unionize the nation's smaller, regional steel...
from jail.
Lydia Gibson died in 1964.
External links
- An image of Lydia Gibson may be seen as part of the George Eastman House's Still Photographic Archive at http://www.geh.org/fm/cunningham/htmlsrc/m197707600066_ful.html Retrieved September 4, 2009.
- A portrait of Robert Minor drawn in graphite by Lydia Gibson in 1936, held by the Library of Congress, may be seen at http://popartmachine.com/item/pop_art/LOC+1176407/%5BPORTRAIT-OF-ROBERT-MINOR%5D-/-LYDIA-GIBSON---JULY-15,-1936.... Retrieved September 4, 2009.