Familiarity of these images allowed them to remain popular for many years. Often these illustrations would be framed and displayed in a child’s bedroom s. The legend that the bluebird brings happiness, shown by the pairing of a lovable young child and the bluebird of happiness was something that parents enjoyed having in their homes. especially at a time when nearly every household in America had a calendar provided by a local business displayed on their kitchen wall. This was a great early marketing tool for both the calendar company, as well as the local businesses that purchased calendars from them. Businesses that purchased advertising calendars, would have people coming into their grocery stores, drug stores and dairies in December, asking what the next year’s “Bluebird Girl” looked like, and requesting a calendar.
#Zula kenyon prints series#
In 1940, Gerlach Barklow touted the Bluebird series as their most famous “follow-up” subject. To us, the bluebird is a symbol of the birth of spring, coming as the first messenger of the opening of the buds and blossoms”.Ĭalendar illustration for the 1930 Gerlach Barklow calendarīluebird series calendars continued to be produced by Gerlach Barklow for over thirty years and would become their trademark images. The 1926 calendar company salesman sample booklet with this image stated, “Miss Kenyon has painted many pictures that recreate happy memories, but in “The Song of the Bluebird”, she has produced a classic destined to bring happiness of thousands, for with a study of rare beauty she has blended an exquisite touch of childhood romance.
![zula kenyon prints zula kenyon prints](https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/274611927053_/Antique-1915-Zula-Kenyon-original-framed-print-deer.jpg)
![zula kenyon prints zula kenyon prints](https://cdn0.rubylane.com/_pod/item/574925/PP-4422/Zula-Kenyon-Large-Calendar-Print-Heralds-full-1A-700%3A10.10-521bd89a-d92e34.png)
That calendar illustration, The Song of the Bluebird, proved to be Gerlach Barklow’s most successful and popular image ever produced. Kenyon would create a calendar image along those same lines–an image of a little girl gazing at a bluebird in the springtime. Barklow attended a stage performance of Maeterlink’s, The Bluebird, the idea was born that Ms. The concept of a Bluebird calendar series came after the company founder, Theodore Gerlach, returned from a European trip with a print of The Spring Song, that depicted a young girl seated on a park bench and gazing at a bluebird. They were given a Raggedy Ann doll, and their parents were paid $5.00 for allowing their child to pose for an upcoming calendar. Many of the models used were local children. Kenyon’s friend Adelaide Hiebel created several other Bluebird calendar images for Gerlach Barklow into the 1950’s. Kenyon created many images for the Bluebird calendar series between 1926-1932, and again in 1939. Depicting a young girl gazing at a bluebird, it has become the most widely recognized image of Gerlach Barklow’s long running series. The Song of the Bluebird was Zula Kenyon’s first commission created for the Bluebird series in the 1926 calendar line. The large pastel, The Song of the Bluebird was produced by Zula Kenyon for use as a calendar published by the Gerlach Barklow Calendar Company. Kenyon’s early work for Gerlach Barklow was signed with only her last name because the company believed that customers would be reluctant to purchase images created by women. The Song of the Bluebird, copyrighted in 1924Ĭalendar illustration for 1926 Gerlach Barklow calendar line One of these, Zula Kenyon, studied art in The School of the Art Institute of Chicago along with her friend and colleague Adelaide Hiebel, also a Gerlach Barklow Company illustrator. Many of the company’s illustration artists were women, some even residents of the local area.
![zula kenyon prints zula kenyon prints](https://www.bargainjohn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/P192CPrintBlueBird.jpg)
The Gerlach Barklow Company produced art calendars and advertising materials in Joliet, Illinois from 1907 through the late 1950s.* Their popular calendars were typically personalized for the businesses who purchased them to distribute to their customers as gifts.