pixie smith & rws

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 01 Aug 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

truthsayer	01 Aug 2002
i know that many of you are turned off by the art of the rws. but do you know anything at all about the life of the artist and the times she lived in? i have the encyclopedia of tarot vol. III and it delineates pixie smith's life in detail. it shows picture of her and other art work. i'm not trying to convert anyone to the rws but i feel like some of you would feel more comfortable about the deck if you understood her better. she is really a very intriguing person. she was in the theater, create stage sets in miniature,story teller and artist. she knew ppl in the golden dawn. she knew w.b. yeats and others in the theater and literature. she tried unsuccessfully for many years to be a commercial success as an artist but never succeeded even tho she never lost faith in herself. she was underpaid for her work on the rws deck. she probably had no idea of the significance of the work she did on it. she never married or had children. she lived a very lonely life and eventually reached a point she felt so hurt by ppl she became a virtual hermit. you can see her depression in her artwork. i don't think she intended for the deck to absorb her depression but i think that it did and some of us are more sensitive to the state of mind she was in when she created the deck. if you study art prior to the deck, you can see where she got some of her ideas. she died in poverty. i really don't care for a.e. waite but i think looking at her life would further anyone's study of tarot and understanding of its "herstory". i've read things about lady freida harris but she lived a much happier life than pixie did. i find pixie's life story very poignant. understanding her better makes me appreciate the deck even more.

Phoenix	01 Aug 2002
Who is Pixie Smith?? I have heard of Pamela Colman Smith, though.

Lee	01 Aug 2002
Pixie was Pamela's nickname. -- Lee

Phoenix	01 Aug 2002
Hmmm. Interesting.

truthsayer	01 Aug 2002
she was nicknamed pixie b/c she looked like one. for years, i've written her middle name coleman instead of colman. i now know to make that distinction.

Laurel	03 Aug 2002
I'll have to read that article. I'm always really interested in people like Pixie Colman and Lady Frieda Harris and knowing more about them, how and why they got involved in painting tarot. Laurel

catlin	05 Aug 2002
I always tell some things about P. Colman Smith and Lady Frieda Harris when I have a public lecture about tarot. In fact, I talk much more about the 2 artists then about A.E. Waite and "Beasty Boy" Crowley LOL. Most ppl here don't know that the 2 most known decks were painted by women.

Laurel	05 Aug 2002
Catlin- if you ever write up an article on the two of them and post it online, be sure to let us all know. Laurel

Kiama	06 Aug 2002
Wow! Thanks for posting this thread Truthsayer! I know alot more now than I did 10 minutes ago! Now, who can I find to impress with my new-found knowledge... *Kiama looks around the library, and hones in on the small man who is typing on the computer next to her... })* Kiama

catlin	06 Aug 2002
Sure I will do this, Laurel, in fact you inspired me!

Keslynn	06 Aug 2002
catlin, you should type up an article about it for the online magazine we're making as well as for Aeclectic. PM me if it sounds like something you'd be interested in. :TQS Kes

divinerguy	06 Aug 2002
I've also read about her. Tragic. Paid a pittance for drawing the most popular Tarot deck of all time. And her name isn't even on the deck.

The pixie smith & rws thread was originally posted on 01 Aug 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.