Pamela Colman Smith: The Artist Who Brought The RWS to Life
Every once in awhile I come across this sentiment on the internet that suggests Pamela Colman Smith has just been discovered as the artist behind the RWS - like there has been some concerted effort to conceal her name and scrub her of any involvement with the tarot. Granted, there was a period where the RWS was traditionally referred to as the Rider-Waite tarot, which does eliminate Smith’s name from the equation. However, this has mostly been corrected among tarot enthusiasts and the community at large.
But still, I see this sentiment of secrecy popping up to this day, and to be honest, it kind of baffles me. In my opinion, if you don’t know who Pamela Colman, that’s ok, but not knowing is not the same thing as information being suppressed. Anyone with a genuine interest in tarot and its roots, with little effort, could find out who was involved in the creation of the Rider Waite Smith tarot.
The reality is, there is a lot of information available about this deck and its creators. It would take a quick Google search to find a number of well researched, accurate and traditionally published resources detailing the history of (arguably) the most popular tarot deck on the planet.
And, Pamela’s contribution to the RWS cannot be understated! While Waite dictated the majors to her, Smith was given reign with the minors. Even though she was influenced by the Sola Busca, we can easily see where her vision and intuition took over to create the vibrant images we have today. Images that paved the way for pretty much every tarot deck that followed. Smith also leaned heavily on the people, places and things she loved, as a way to bring life to the minors. For example, she was involved in the theatre scene at the time, and as such, we see lots of nods to performance and consume in her designs. She had the remarkable ability of creating images there were not only personal to her, but also highly accessible to the collective.
Pamela Colman Smith deserves a lot of credit for the work she did and luckily, many authors would agree! This is exactly why we have so much available to us today, and it’s not a case of history being lost. So, if you’re new to tarot, or just looking to get a little more informed on the lineage of this incredible tool, and its artist, we’ve compiled a list of resources for you to explore! Enjoy!
A sample of what you'll find in the Commemorative Tarot Set linked below.
Pamela Colman Smith: The Untold Story by Stuart Kaplan (published by U.S. Games)
Pamela Colman Smith The Commemorative Set by Stuart Kaplan (tarot deck and book) - This set contains the Centennial Edition of the RWS, which is by far my favourite edition in terms of colouring, cardstock and back design. The set is also fantastic as it contains additional art work by Pamela (outside of her work with tarot). It is truly a homage to Pamela - her artistry and influence.
Pamela Colman Smith: Life and Work by Colleen Lynch & Melissa Staiger
Pamela Coleman Smith: The Pious Pixie by Dawn G. Robinson (published by Fonthill Media)
Secrets of the Waite Smith Tarot by Marcus Katz & Tali Goodwin (published by Llewellyn) - I personally love this resource because it goes so deep into not just the history of the deck, but the lives of both A.E. Waite and Pamela Colman Smith, even documenting the people and places in their lives that helped shape the deck.
Women of the Golden Dawn by Mary K. Greer (published by Park Street Press) - This book touches on Pamela Colman Smith along with other prominent female members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
We hope you enjoyed these resources and if you liked what you found here, please know there is also so much more to discover! Remember - tarot is full of mystery (and we rather like it that way), but some things are also very well documented. Let’s empower ourselves to stay informed and uncover the information that is of interest to us. We believe we’ll all be better readers and students of this work as a result.