Early Life and Training
Cecilia Beaux, a prominent American society portraitist, was born on May 1, 1855, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her early life was marked by the untimely death of her mother, Cecilia Kent Leavitt, when Beaux was just an infant. This event led to her being raised by her maternal grandmother and aunts in Philadelphia.
Beaux's artistic journey began with lessons from Catherine Ann Drinker, a relative and accomplished artist, at the age of 16. She continued her training under Francis Adolf Van der Wielen for two years, focusing on perspective and drawing from casts. Given the Victorian era's bias against female students, she was denied direct study in anatomy until much later.
Artistic Career
Beaux's breakthrough came when she began attending the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1876, under the influence of Thomas Eakins. Though she steered clear of Eakins' ardent supporters, her work was significantly influenced by his progressive teaching philosophy. Beaux won the Mary Smith Prize at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts exhibitions in 1885, 1887, 1891, and 1892.
- Her sympathetic renderings of the American ruling class made her one of the most successful portrait painters of her era.
- Along with John Singer Sargent and William Merritt Chase, Beaux was a leading portraitist in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century.
- Chase praised her as “not only the greatest living woman painter, but the best that has ever lived.”
Notable Works and Legacy
One of Beaux's most acclaimed works is her
Portrait of Harriet Sears Amory, showcasing her grand-manner portraits of the social and intellectual elite. This piece, executed with the bravura brushstrokes and heavy impasto of Impressionism, exemplifies her mastery of the genre.
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Museums and Collections Featuring Her Work
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