Thelma Somerville Cudlipp (14 October 1891 – 2 April 1983) was an American artist and book illustrator.
Early life
Thelma was born in Richmond, Virginia on 14 October 1891. She was the daughter of Frederick Dallas Cudlipp and Annie (née Ericsson) Cudlipp. Her mother died in Bermuda on 24 June 1915.
After her father died in Virginia in 1903, then in her teens, she came to New York City to study art. Her mother was an assistant editor on The Delineator in 1909 when Theodore Dreiser was managing editor. Dreiser became infatuated with Thelma, but her mother was strongly opposed to Dreiser's involvement with her daughter, Thelma's mother succeeded in breaking up the relationship by sending Thelma to England and by reporting it to the directors of the Butterick Publishing Company, which cost Dreiser his job.
Artistic career
