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Neysa McMein (1888-1949) was a popular magazine and advertising illustrator, portrait artist, and member of the Algonquin Round Table in the 1920s and 30s. One of McMein's significant contributions to commercial art was her domestic design for the original Betty Crocker character. Most of her work was in pastels.  In 1986, The Society of Illustrators posthumously inducted McMein into its Hall of Fame. "Anything Goes: The Jazz Age Adventures of Neysa McMein and Her Extravagant Circle of Friends" is the definitive biography of Neysa McMein written in 1989 by Brian Gallagher. A full-length feature film on the life of Dorothy Parker, "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" (1995) features actress Rebecca Miller (Arthur Miller's daughter) as Neysa McMein. In 2000, a full-color exhibition catalog of nearly all McMein's commerical work, "The Lady Seldom Smiles: A Collector's Guide to Neysa McMein," by Norm Platnick is available through enchantmentink.com |
Issued by the United States Postal Service in February 2001, "American Illustrators" is a collection of 34-cent stamps illustrated by 20 artists. One stamp features McMein's June 1932
 McCall's magazine cover illustration of a woman artist holding an easel. McMein was one of three women artists in the series.
McMein hosted nightly salons in her New York studio located across from Carnegie Hall. George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Noel Coward, Walt Disney, Edna Ferber, Charlie Chaplin, Helen Hayes, George Abbott, Harpo Marx and Dorothy Parker were among her friends, and Anais Nin posed for one of her covers. McMein was a game lover and popularized "Charades"in America. Married to mining engineer and writer Jack Baragwanath, McMein died on May 12, 1949 in New York City. Neysa's daughter, Joan Baragwanath Leech, passed in 2001 in Neenah, Wis. Some very kind French person submitted a seven-minute YouTube of an array of Neysa's magazine covers and personal photos set to music. Cynthia Gallaher, a descendant cousin of Neysa McMein, would like to hear from anyone with anecdotes, questions, comments, or personal insights regarding the illustrator's work and life.Read Neysa McMein: Who Is She and Why Does She Deserve Your Attention? by David Finkle, chief drama critic for TheaterMania.com |