Doll:Godey Fashion Lady

Fern Deutsch's doll-making career evolved from her work in creating seasonal window displays for department stores and jewelry stores in New York City and San Antonio, Texas. Deutsch worked with her aunt, Besse McGee in making figures for window displays that ranged in scale from nine inches to six feet tall. The artists found a retail market for their smaller figures dressed in historical clothing in gift departments and exclusive shops. During the 1950s, Deutsch's figures began to attract doll collectors, and commissions from these collectors and museum kept the artists busy. Deutsch made her doll heads of composition and fashioned the bodies and limbs from wire armatures padded with cotton. The artist made all the doll clothing and accessories and based their historical accurate creations on extensive research.