Artist

FF Drayton

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This is confirmed to be Grace G. Drayton, whose signature "Drayton" appears on this well-documented Scottish Terrier print—the same design that circulated widely as a promotional image tied to the RKO film "Check and Double Check."

Grace Drayton, born Grace Gebbie in Philadelphia in 1877 or 1878, grew up steeped in the printing and publishing trade; Drayton grew up in Philadelphia's art world, and her father was a lithographer by training and a well respected publisher of fine arts books and reproductions. She trained formally at the Drexel Institute and the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, where she was a student of the American artist and teacher Robert Henri during 1893 and 1894, before launching a professional career as an illustrator. Grace G. Drayton was one of the most successful women illustrators of her generation, having studied with painter Robert Henri and become a freelance artist in 1895.

Drayton is best remembered today as the creator of the Campbell's Soup Kids, the rosy-cheeked advertising characters that made her name a household one; she contributed to books, magazines and advertising campaigns, most notably for Campbell's Soup, creating the ubiquitous Campbell Kids. Beyond that signature work, Drayton was known for Fido, Kitty Puss, and other children's books, and also created "Pussy Pumpkins," "Dolly Dingle," and "Pussycat Princess," capitalizing on her caricatures by turning them into highly profitable images for postcards, cartoon strips, and paper dolls. She published prolifically with major printers of the day, including Raphael Tuck and Sons of London, whose series each had four cards, bringing her total postcard output for that publisher alone to 72 cards.

Later in her career Drayton turned her gently sentimental style to animal subjects, including charming studies of Scottish Terriers, one of which was famously commissioned to promote the 1930 RKO film "Check and Double Check." Signed simply "Drayton," these dog studies carry the same warm, accessible charm that made her children's illustrations so enduringly popular, and they remain sought after by collectors of vintage advertising art, postcards, and early twentieth-century American illustration.

Sources:

Lots by FF Drayton

FF Drayton 'Check and Double Check' Print

Harvest Moon