"Ernesta," Cecilia Beaux, 1914.

Beaux (1855-1942) was a very successful portrait artist at the turn of the 20th century, so much so that some referred to her as "the female Sargent." In truth, many feel her on a level with Sargent.

Born to a well-off Philadelphia family, she studied there and in Paris (of course) before returning to the US to make a splash as a society portraitist.

Here we have her favorite niece, Ernesta, in a friendly and casual pose. It's especially fun as twenty years earlier she had painted Ernesta as a toddler. Here she is very much in the environment of a typical society belle, a huge contrast to Beaux, who regarded herself as a "New Woman," an early feminist who sought education and self-reliance, rather than only being a housewife and mother.

Happy Portrait Monday!

From the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

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Twilight Confidences

Oil on canvas, Cecilia Beaux, painted on the coast of France in 1888

Cecilia Beaux (1855-1942) was born in Philadelphia. Her mother passed away during childbirth and her father, grieving the loss of his wife, decided to return to France leaving his 2 daughters with their maternal grandmother and aunts Eliza and Emily, who saw the value in the education of girls as well as in any artistic pursuits. William Foster Biddle, or Uncle Willie, who was married to aunt Emily, with whom the two sisters lived, was a kind and generous man, financially supporing Beaux’s education and art classes.

Cecilia Beaux and her sister Etta lived very different lives. Etta got married and became the mother of six children. Cecilia devoted herself to art, deciding not to marry and her family supported that decision.

#ceciliabeaux #art #artist #twilightconfidences #portraitartist #arte #peintre #kunst #künstler #artworld #worldofart #oilpainter #huile #oleo #öl #oil #paintingoftheday #painting #womenpainters

Who was Cecilia Beaux? Here's a nice article on her interesting life story that features our painting "Twilight Confidences" (about to be on loan to the exhibition “Women Masters, Old and Modern,” on view at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (Madrid, Spain), October 31, 2023 - February 4, 2024).

https://www.thecollector.com/who-was-cecilia-beaux/

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