Kewpie Doll
PeriodCirca 1912 - 1917
Place MadeGermany
MediumBisque porcelain, paper tag
Dimensions5 × 3 × 2 in. (12.7 × 7.6 × 5.1 cm)
ClassificationsDolls
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Francis McMenimen, 1974
Object number1974.29.55
DescriptionA small molded free-standing cherub figurine of bisque porcelain in a pale pink tone, highlighted with darker pink on cheeks, knees, and fingertips. The little figure has molded and painted features including large dark eyes. A small blue bow is molded at the back of the doll's neck. The figure's arms are attached to the shoulders with simple wire loops. An original printed paper label is glued to the cherub's chest, with "KEWPIE" in bold white letters on a red shield bordered with gold.Curatorial RemarksThis charming little cherub helped make women's suffrage possible. The genius behind the Kewpie (a variation on "cupid") was artist Rose O'Neill. Born in 1874 in Pennsylvania, O'Neill grew up in Pennsylvania. She pursued an art career and became the best-known and highest-paid commercial artist in the United States by the early 20th century. O'Neill's Kewpie first appeared in print in a Ladies' Home Journal advertisement in 1909, and the adorable little Kewpies were instantly popular. In 1911-1912, O'Neill partnered with a German porcelain company to produce Kewpies for commercial sale. After World War I impacted the German toymaking industry, O'Neill's Kewpies were produced in the United States in a variety of materials. Kewpies became highly popular as carnival and circus prizes. Kewpies became one of the first mass-marketed toys in the country and made O'Neill a millionaire. The artist was devoted to the cause of women's suffrage, and used her fortune to support the promotion of the Nineteenth Amendment. Kewpies appeared in newspaper and magazine advertisements, posters, postcards, and other printed materials advancing women's rights. After the popularity of her cherubic characters waned, O'Neill returned to the midwest. She suffered a series of strokes and died indigent in 1944 at the age of 70.NotesDonor Vivian Warne (Mrs. Francis) McMenimen was an avid doll collector. Born in East Orange, New Jersey, in 1906, McMenimen lived in Rumson for twenty years. McMenimen collected dolls of all types, gathering an almost encyclopedic assemblage of dolls, doll clothing, and related artifacts for over three decades. Mrs. McMenimen donated the majority of her doll collection to the Historical Association in 1974. She died in 1978 in Boca Raton, Florida, and was interred at the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Rockaway, Morris County, New Jersey. This particular Kewpie doll, with its fine bisque porcelain body and original paper label, was most likely one of the early figures produced in Germany.
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