Elizabeth MacKinstry

Once Upon a Canvas: Exploring Fairy Tale Illustrations from 1870-1942



Elizabeth MacKinstry (1879-1956)

Elizabeth MacKinstry was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1879. She and her family moved to Paris when she was about seven, where she was discovered to be a talented violinist, studying under famed violinist Eugene Ysaye. Sadly, she developed tuberculosis of the spine as a teenager, and was no longer able to continue performing the violin professionally. Upon returning to the United States, she began to develop her hobby in art, even teaching at the Albright Art School of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy in Buffalo, New York from 1911-1913, and studying sculpture with Auguste Rodin (an influence shown in the classic elegance of her drawing style). In 1925, she wrote and illustrated a book of poems called Puck in Pasture, beginning her extensive illustrating career. She died on May 13th, 1956, in Lenox, Massachusetts.

-Jacqueline Pittman