In an instant she was on the saddle, and clasped in his great strong arms 1920

Jessie Willcox Smith made this illustration, "In an instant she was on the saddle, and clasped in his great strong arms," at the height of her career as a magazine and book illustrator in the United States. Smith was one of the so-called Red Rose Girls, a group of female artists who, against the odds, made careers for themselves as illustrators at the turn of the century. They used their position in the popular press to present new visions of women and children. This image invokes the romanticism of earlier eras with the cultural norms of the early 20th century. The knight in shining armor rescues the fair maiden, but in a way that speaks to changing gender roles. By looking at periodicals and books from the period, we can understand how artists participated in shaping a rapidly changing society. Smith's work gives us insight into how traditional stories were reimagined for a modern audience.