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Helen Churchill Candee
Helen Churchill Candee (October 5, 1858 – August 23, 1949) was an American author, journalist, interior decorator, feminist, and geographer. She is best remembered as a survivor of the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912, and for her later work as a travel writer and explorer of southeast Asia.
Helen was born Helen Churchill Hungerford, the daughter of New York City merchant Henry and Mary Elizabeth (Hungerford) Churchill. She spent most of her childhood in Connecticut. She married Edward Candee of Norwalk, Connecticut and had two children by him, Edith and Harold. After her abusive husband abandoned the family, Helen Candee supported herself and children as a writer for popular magazines such as Scribner's and The Ladies' Home Journal. She initially wrote on the subjects most familiar to her—genteel etiquette and household management—but soon branched into other topics such as child care, education, and women's rights. For several years she resided in Oklahoma, and her stories about that region helped to catapult her to national prominence as a journalist. Candee obtained a divorce in 1896, after a lengthy separation.
Candee was a feminist, as evidenced by her best-selling first book, How Women May Earn a Living (1900). Her second book, An Oklahoma Romance (1901), was a novel that promoted the possibilities of settlement in Oklahoma Territory.
An established literary figure, Candee moved to Washington, D.C., where she became one of the first professional interior decorators. Her clients included then Secretary of War Henry Stimson and President Theodore Roosevelt. Candee's book, Decorative Styles and Periods (1906), embodied her principles of design: careful historical research and absolute authenticity.
While in Washington, Candee also pursued an active social life, serving on many civic boards and involving herself in Democratic politics. Yet her friends were a varied lot, from liberal reformer William Jennings Bryan to ultra-conservative First Lady Helen Herron Taft. Her friendship with the Tafts was long-standing, despite their differing opinions on women's rights. She was also close with President Theodore Roosevelt and his wife; two of Candee's most important decorating commissions came from the Roosevelts, the first (in 1907) to select a pair of Louis XVI chairs for the First Lady, the other a general consultancy in partnership with architect Nathan C. Wyeth to remodel the White House's West Wing (in 1909).
Candee was a trustee for the Corcoran Gallery of Art, a member of both the Archeological Society and the American Federation of Arts, and a board member of the Washington chapter of the National Woman Suffrage Association.
In her early years as a journalist, Candee wrote fiction for traditional women's interest magazines like Good Housekeeping, Harper's Bazaar, The Ladies' Home Journal, and Woman's Home Companion. Her later articles, focusing on art, culture, and design, appeared in American Homes, American Magazine of Art, and International Studio. Candee also contributed to many of the leading literary and political journals of the day: Atlantic Monthly, The Century, Forum, Metropolitan, and Scribner's.
She wrote eight books – four were on the decorative arts, two were travelogues, one was instructional, and one was a novel. Candee's biggest seller was The Tapestry Book (1912), which went into many editions.
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Helen Churchill Candee
Helen Churchill Candee (October 5, 1858 – August 23, 1949) was an American author, journalist, interior decorator, feminist, and geographer. She is best remembered as a survivor of the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912, and for her later work as a travel writer and explorer of southeast Asia.
Helen was born Helen Churchill Hungerford, the daughter of New York City merchant Henry and Mary Elizabeth (Hungerford) Churchill. She spent most of her childhood in Connecticut. She married Edward Candee of Norwalk, Connecticut and had two children by him, Edith and Harold. After her abusive husband abandoned the family, Helen Candee supported herself and children as a writer for popular magazines such as Scribner's and The Ladies' Home Journal. She initially wrote on the subjects most familiar to her—genteel etiquette and household management—but soon branched into other topics such as child care, education, and women's rights. For several years she resided in Oklahoma, and her stories about that region helped to catapult her to national prominence as a journalist. Candee obtained a divorce in 1896, after a lengthy separation.
Candee was a feminist, as evidenced by her best-selling first book, How Women May Earn a Living (1900). Her second book, An Oklahoma Romance (1901), was a novel that promoted the possibilities of settlement in Oklahoma Territory.
An established literary figure, Candee moved to Washington, D.C., where she became one of the first professional interior decorators. Her clients included then Secretary of War Henry Stimson and President Theodore Roosevelt. Candee's book, Decorative Styles and Periods (1906), embodied her principles of design: careful historical research and absolute authenticity.
While in Washington, Candee also pursued an active social life, serving on many civic boards and involving herself in Democratic politics. Yet her friends were a varied lot, from liberal reformer William Jennings Bryan to ultra-conservative First Lady Helen Herron Taft. Her friendship with the Tafts was long-standing, despite their differing opinions on women's rights. She was also close with President Theodore Roosevelt and his wife; two of Candee's most important decorating commissions came from the Roosevelts, the first (in 1907) to select a pair of Louis XVI chairs for the First Lady, the other a general consultancy in partnership with architect Nathan C. Wyeth to remodel the White House's West Wing (in 1909).
Candee was a trustee for the Corcoran Gallery of Art, a member of both the Archeological Society and the American Federation of Arts, and a board member of the Washington chapter of the National Woman Suffrage Association.
In her early years as a journalist, Candee wrote fiction for traditional women's interest magazines like Good Housekeeping, Harper's Bazaar, The Ladies' Home Journal, and Woman's Home Companion. Her later articles, focusing on art, culture, and design, appeared in American Homes, American Magazine of Art, and International Studio. Candee also contributed to many of the leading literary and political journals of the day: Atlantic Monthly, The Century, Forum, Metropolitan, and Scribner's.
She wrote eight books – four were on the decorative arts, two were travelogues, one was instructional, and one was a novel. Candee's biggest seller was The Tapestry Book (1912), which went into many editions.