Serena Summerfield was born on August 9, 1885, Goldsboro, North Carolina. The birth date is from the Social Security Death Index. Her birthplace is based on a notice, in the Goldsboro Messenger (North Carolina), December 30, 1886, which places her father in Goldsboro on May 5, 1885. The 1900 United States census said Summerfield (line 78) was born in August 1886 and the oldest of three siblings. Their parents were Morris, a merchant, and Annie (Davison), both German immigrants who married in Norfolk, Virginia on August 19, 1884. The family lived in Staunton, Virginia at 114 Church Street.
Summerfield attended the Mary Baldwin Seminary in Staunton.
The Bluestocking 1903
Her address was 114 Church in the 1904 Staunton city directory. Shortly after the directory’s publication, she moved to New York City.
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, 47th Annual Report, June 2, 1906, mentioned Summerfield twice.
Woman’s Art School.Decorative Design—First YearHonorable Mention. Serena SummerfieldThe Prize of $10, offered to the First and Second Year Classes in Decorative Design, was awarded to Serena Summerfield.
American Art News, June 16, 1906, mentioned Summerfield.
The exhibition and reception of the Cooper Union Woman’s Art School was held in the evening of May 31, at which Miss Kate L. Reynolds, principal and Miss Page, librarian, received.... Serenas Summerfield won the $10 prize which was offered to the first and second-year classes in design. ...Bronze medals were awarded to ... Serena Summerfield ...
The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia), August 4, 1906, reported Summerfield’s awards.
Premium Awards Made in Women’s DepartmentOne of the most attractive booths at the state fair is that of the women’s department. At this booth there is everything that appeals to the taste and whims of the fair sex from a pretty picture to the finest kind of crochet work. ...Art Department Awards... Pen and ink drawings; first premium, Miss Serena Summerfield, Staunton, Virginia.Wash drawing; second premium, Miss Serene Summerfield, Staunton, Virginia.Water color (still life); first premium, Miss Serena Summerfield, Staunton, Virginia.Designing; second premium, Miss Serena Summerfield, Staunton, Virginia.Original drawing; first premium, Miss Serena Summerfield, Staunton, Virginia.
Summerfield was mentioned twice in the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, 49th Annual Report, June 4, 1908.
Woman’s Art School.Decorative Design—Third YearSilver Medal. Serena SummerfieldThe Prizes to the Class in Decorative Design from the Robert Goodhue Prize Fund, for the best design for an inlaid table top in the style of the Renaissance in Italy, were awarded as follows:… Second Prize, $10. Serena Summerfield.
The 1910 census counted the Summerfield family of six (lines 91 to 96) in the Bronx, New York, at 839 Kelly Street. Summerfield was a wallpaper designer. Her father was manufacturer of braids.
At some point the Summerfield family moved to Baltimore, Maryland. The 1915 city directory listed Summerfield, an artist, at 900 Whitelock. In the 1917 directory her studio was at 602 Phoenix Building.
The Baltimore Sun, November 5, 1916, said
Dance in Witches’ CaveMembers of Social Circle Hold a Halloween Party.The home of Miss Jean Cooper, 2025 Eutaw Place, was turned into a veritable witches’ cave Tuesday evening, when the Social Circle entertained at a Halloween dance. A feature of the evening was a gipsy fortune teller.Those present were Misses Priscilla Summerfield, Serena Summerfield, Florence Middlemas, Anna Singer, Nana Cone, Bessie Cone, Reba Cohen. Mary Cohen, Selma Handel, Anna Spillman, Cecilia Fineberg. Jean Cooper, Bertha Cooper, Lillian Cooper, Lonnie Cooper, Pauline Cooper, Florence Kline, Jessica Paris, Birdie Kahn. Messrs. Frank Ephraim, Rolf Sinsheimer, Henry Samberg, David S. Black, Dr. Harry Nathansen, Dr. S. G. Mendleson, S. L. Levinson, Harry Cone, Henry Cone, Irving Cooper, David Land S. Watlenstein, Ed Roenick, Stanley Handel. Dave Stemberg.
In the 1920 census, the Summerfield family (lines 38 to 42) were Baltimore residents at 3710 Park Heights Avenue. Summerfield and her brother were artists in the reproduction trade. Sometime later the family returned to New York City.
According to the Board of Elections of the City of New York, List of Enrolled Voters, Fifth Assembly District, Borough of Brooklyn, December 31, 1923, Summerfield was a Republican who lived at 225 Decatur Street.
Summerfield illustrated the 1924 book, Forty Years of Hardware on pages 7, 9, 11, 15, 18, 69, 82, 88, 95, 263, 335, 373, 387, and 411.
The 1925 New York City directory said Summerfleld was an illustrator at 150 Nassau Street, room 1934.
Summerfield was listed in Advertising Arts and Crafts, Eastern Edition Volume 2, 1926.
Summerfield, Serene, 150 Nassau, Bee 5207.Design, Poster, Black and White Tempura.
Her listing in Advertising Arts and Crafts, Volume 1, 1928, said
Summerfield, Serene ..... 1050 Park Place, Bklyn., New York, N. Y., Laf. 9272W
The 1930 census counted Summerfield, her parents and brother, Jerome, in Brooklyn at 1054 Park Place. She was a self-employed artist who produced posters.
Summerfield, a Democrat, had the same address in the Board of Elections of the City of New York, List of Enrolled Voters, Eighteenth Assembly District, Borough of Brooklyn, December 31, 1931.
During the 1930s Summerfield had work copyrighted:
Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 4, Works of Art, etc. 1932, New Series, Volume 27, Number 2Summerfield (Serene)* 3071, 3072Bristol diced mints:Crystal cool.—Pocket packet and swanky dice jar for home or office. © 1 c. each May 11, 1932; G 8670, 8671.Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 4, Works of Art, etc. 1932, New Series, Volume 27, Number 3Summerfield (Serene)* 5372Three-panel screen design in black, white and silver, deer or antelope silhouette. © 1 c. Aug. 4, 1932; G 9164.Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 4, Works of Art, etc. 1935, New Series, Volume 30, Number 4Summerfield (Serene)* 8842King Cotton. © 1 c. Dec. 21, 1935; G 21610.
Summerfield’s entrance in the comic book industry was described in Women and the Comics 1985).
Women artists at the Eisner-Iger and Iger-Roche shop over the years included Nina Albright, Ruth Atkinson, Ruth Harris, Ann Brewster, Lillian Chestney Zuckerberg, Frances Dietrick Hopper, Karen Karol, Jean Levander, Lilly Renee Wilhelms Peters, Marcia Snyder, Serene Summerfield and Priscilla Ward. Of these Serene Summerfield was the first, having met Jerry Iger and Will Eisner at the office of a publisher named John Henle, whose unsuccessful and short-lived Wow, What a Comic! was indirectly responsible for bringing the core members of the first Eisner-Iger shop together. Eisner remembers Summerfield as “a big statuesque woman with a pleasant face, a sharp nose and hyperthyroid eyes who wore her hair in a bun.” The only credited work she is known to have done is “Space Limited” for Henle and some filler pages for National in 1936. ...
The Grand Comics Database has Summerfield’s credits.
Summerfield won several contests held by the New York Post: December 24, 1937, Game of Picture-Rhymes
May 19, 1938, Screen Scrambles, won $2.50; September 22, 1938, Song Titles, won $5; October 20, 1938, Song Titles, won $20 to $5.
The Houston Chronicle (Texas), April 15, 1939, included radio programs.
Professor Quiz: Mrs. Geraldine King, driving in a trailer from Akron, Ohio, to New York, features her visit to the big city with a trip to the Professor Quiz program. She will be one of the five unrehearsed contenders on the show to be broadcast over CBS-KTRH at 7:30 p.m. Other will be W. H. Givens, Jackson, Tenn., and Miss Serene Summerfield of New York.
According to the 1940 census, Summerfield (line 22), her parents and two bothers lived in Brooklyn at 166 Brooklyn Avenue.
The Los Angeles Examiner (California), April 19, 1941, printed Summerfield’s letter.
April 6, 1941.Mr. William Randolph Hearst, San Simeon, Calif.Dear Mr. Hearst:For once I am with you 100 per cent—air conditioning has possibilities, but in its present “condition” it is anything but “conditioned.”So until some “ingenious” inventor can discover some way of really “conditioning” air so that it will be purified and “tempered” instead of “frigid-aire” let’s hope they will “leave well enough alone.”You see it is not only trains, but as you of course know, theatres, stores, restaurants, et al resort to this “freeze-out.”I give these so-called “air-cooled” theatre in summer a wide berth.Your article in “In the News” about the above was priceless. It was very, very funny—but oh, so true!Now I know it was not just me—that others suffer from this “conditioning” as well as I. And do not get me wrong—I like lots of air—but I like it fresh, not frozen, and in its natural state.Well thanks a lot for bringing this out in the open—air!Sincerely yours,Serena Summerfield,110 West 42nd St., Room 507,New York City.
The New York newspaper, PM, May 31, 1948, said
Serena Summerfield reports overhearing this on the Independent, one girl to another: “This is her fourth husband. She certainly has a lot of personality.”
Unity, May 1949, published Summerfield’s “Words”.
Words can be weapons or soothing balm;Words can be surcease or they can be harm;Words can be irksome, can vex or annoy;Words can be bludgeons that bruise or destroy.Words can be soothing or words can be savage;Words can be healing or utterly ravage.Words can raise up, or words can tear down;Can bring forth a smile or occasion a frown.So before you permit them to pass through the air,Be sure they are kindly, loving, and fair.
Summerfield has not yet been found in the 1950 census.
Summerfield’s father passed away on July 22, 1944. He was laid to rest at Cypress Hills Cemetery. Her mother passed away on February 24, 1949.
Summerfield passed away in July 1966 in New York. The Social Security Death Index said her last residence was Brooklyn.
Further Reading
The Comics Detective, Serene Summerfield: The First Lady of Comic Books
Women in Comics Posts
Jeanne Alippe, Ruth Atkinson, Olive Bailey, Valerie Barclay, Betty Bentley, Vivian Berg, Zena Brody, Jean Callahan, Helen Chu aka Duffy Mohler, Ellen Cole, Corinne Boyd Dillon, Anahid Dinkjian, Jill Elgin,
Barbara Clark Fogel, Laura E. Foster, Evelyn Gaines aka Lynn Lovelace, Merna Gamble, Gerda Gattel, Selma Meyers Gleit, Jane Krom Grammer, Anita Greene,
Bonnie Hano, Delores Heilman, Ray Hermann, Joye Hummel, Marjorie Wilkes Huntley, Grace Jacquet, Charlotte Jetter,
Anna Kaufman, Bessie Mae Kelley, Nadine French King, Alice Kirkpatrick, Grace Kremer, Ada Levy, Pauline Loth, Veda Lufkin,
Marion McDermott, Emma C. McKean, Tarpé Mills, Claire S. Moe, Phyllis Muchow, Lily Reneé, Ruth Roche,
Georgette Sauterel, Marie Severin, Marcia Snyder, Lora Sprang aka Pat Gordon, Serena Summerfield, Daisy Swayze, Terry Szenics, Claire Szep,
(Next post on Monday: Vancouver Manhole Covers)
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