Lillian Moller Gilbreth

Object Details

Date
1929-30
Artist
Frank Stanley Herring, 1894 - 12 Jun 1966
Sitter
Lillian Evelyn Moller Gilbreth, 24 May 1878 - 2 Jan 1972
Exhibition Label
Born Oakland, California
Lillian Gilbreth had twelve children during the course of her marriage. That did not prevent her, however, from obtaining a doctorate in industrial psychology. Nor did it stop her from taking an active part in the consulting business started by her husband Frank, a pioneer in efficiency engineering. With Frank’s death in 1924, Lillian took over the business, and by the 1930s she was the country’s leading authority in applying workplace efficiency to home management. Among Gilbreth’s most lasting achievements were her efforts to devise ways for the physically handicapped to lead more independent lives.
Gilbreth posed for this portrait around 1930. Later her daughter Ernestine purchased the picture with royalties from Cheaper by the Dozen, the best-selling memoir that she and her brother had written about their life.
Provenance
The artist; purchased 1949 by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Paradise Valley, Ariz., and Reedley, Calif., daughter of sitter; gift to NPG 1997
Place
United States\New York\Kings\New York
Topic
Costume\Academic\Cap and gown
Lillian Evelyn Moller Gilbreth: Female
Lillian Evelyn Moller Gilbreth: Science and Technology\Inventor
Lillian Evelyn Moller Gilbreth: Science and Technology\Engineer\Industrial engineer
Lillian Evelyn Moller Gilbreth: Medicine and Health\Psychologist\Industrial psychologist
Portrait
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and Lillian Carey Barley
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Object number
NPG.97.59
Type
Painting
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Frame: 114.3 x 88.6 x 4.1cm (45 x 34 7/8 x 1 5/8")
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4e184414a-2705-4a56-8e1f-51f1b4f9312b
Record ID
npg_NPG.97.59