Dawn Gustafson, age 15, of Springfield, I11. , for her question:

WHAT WAS A GIBSON GIRL?

Charles Dana Gibson was an American artist and illustrator who became famous for his pen and ink creation of a pretty girl that came to be known as the "Gibson Girl."

Born in Massachusetts in 1867, Gibson entered the Art Students' League in New York City when he was 17 years old. Two years later he sold his first drawing to Life, a humor magazine of the time. Not too long afterward, he was made a member of the staff.

The "Gibson Girl" was created while he was working for the magazine. The creation was a tall, regal young woman with an athletic figure. Many other artists started to imitate her type in their drawings and thousands of women across America started to copy her clothes, hair style, posture and manner.

In 1905 Gibson went to Europe to study painting. He returned to do an extensive series of illustrations for Collier's Weekly. And then in 1918 he became the editor of Life.