Florence Scovel Shinn

Florence Scovel Shinn
Photo of Florence Scovel Shinn (no later than 1903)
Born	(1871-09-24)September 24, 1871 Camden, New Jersey, USA
Died	October 17, 1940(1940-10-17) (aged 69)
Nationality	American
Occupation	Artist, author and New Thought spiritual teacher.

Florence Scovel Shinn (September 24, 1871, Camden, New Jersey – October 17, 1940) was an American artist and book illustrator who became a New Thought spiritual teacher and metaphysical writer in her middle years. In New Thought circles, she is best known for her first book, The Game of Life and How to Play It (1925).

Shinn expressed her philosophy as:

Florence Scovel was born in New Jersey, the daughter of Alden Cortlandt Scovel and Emily Hopkinson Scovel. She was educated in Philadelphia where she attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and there met her future husband, the artist Everett Shinn (1876–1953). After marriage they moved into a studio apartment at 112 Waverly Place, near Washington Square, New York. Everett built a theatre next door, and wrote three plays in which Florence played a leading role. Everett Shinn became known as a member of the Ashcan School of art, and Florence worked as an illustrator. They were divorced in 1912.

Her metaphysical works began with her self-published The Game of Life and How to Play it in 1925. Your Word is Your Wand was published in 1928 and The Secret Door to Success in 1940. After her death another two works were published, The Power Of The Spoken Word in 1945 by Shinn Press and The Magic Path Of Intuition. This last book was published by Louise Hay in 2013 who assured received from a rare-books dealer a small, typewritten unpublished manuscript of the last writings of Florence Scovel Shinn. Here is a fragment of the letter she received:

"Several Months ago we came across a unique item from that collection that we think you may have an interest in. The item is an original typewritten manuscript by Florence Scovel Shinn, The Magic Path of Intuition. We´re contacting you to see if you or Hay House have an interest in purchasing this rare original manuscript positioned to share its content with the world".

The Game of Life and How to Play it includes quotes from the Bible and anecdotal explanations of the author's understanding of God and man. Her philosophy centers on the power of positive thought and usually includes instructions for verbal or physical affirmation.