Cecilia Beaux vs. J. S. Sargent
 

The authors of Seven Women: Great Painters state that Cecilia Beaux's works are better than J.S.Sargent's. Do you think so?

I saw a 19th century woman artist's work at Smithsonian, I think her skill is better than most of her contemporary artists, but she died in poverty.

After three decades of struggle, for a person and a country, a woman artist, Zhou Sicong was evaluated as the No.1 artist in traditional Chinese painting. (She died in her middle age by disease).

Dear SB,

Could you provide any internet links for the artists you mention?

Thanks.

I've only seen 3 or 4 of C Beaux's works that knock me out. She tried pointedly to paint like him, not the other way around. I've seen hundreds of awesome Sargents. "Man with a Cat"(below by Beaux) is great- especially in person. Saying she was better is pretty much just a indefensible opinion...and you know what they say about opinions.

P. S. An interesting aspect to consider when reading books about poverty-stricken painters is how much work did they produce? Vermeer is about the only well know painter that produced just a few paintings. Production means wide distribution which means wide exposure which normally means sales which cancel poverty; hopefully.

Wow. That is a great painting. It seems to incorportate every lesson I've learned from SOG artists. Now, how did Beaux access SOG with no electricity?

Jeff, the edges are so soft, the paint rather thin-I was impressed-the figures are just smudges when viewed up close.

It just goes to show that sometimes, less is more!

Cecilia was a wonderful painter. She could capture the essence of her subjects and their personality with just a few strokes of her brush. Just what was important, how simple can that be?

Oh! To be able to work the magic she did.

She may have studied Sargent's style but she definitely worked that into her own! Don't you think?

Yes! Sargent was a great painter.

Cecilia was just as good of a painter and if given the choice of being able to paint like either, I would have to choose Cecilia. I would love to have her sensitivity to pick up on the things that she did!

Here is a bit of history for y'all!

Cecilia was actually in big demand. She studied in Paris. 1889 she came back to America and started her portrait career in Philadelphia. She did some portrait work for Theodore Roosevelt and his family so her work didn't ever really go unrecognized. Cecilia won many life time achievement awards, one being from Eleanor Roosevelt, the national Achievement Gold Medal Award of the Chi Omega Fraternity. Cecilia never married, but you might say she was married to art and her career as an artist. In 1924 Cecilia fell on some ice in Paris, where she was visiting and broke a hip. In those days there was no such thing as Disability/Social Security, being crippled and in pain it made it hard for her to continue her career as she had. She went on to write a book, 'Backgrounds with Figures' and it was published in 1930.(Does anyone know where to find a copy, besides Ebay)? It wasn't because she wasn't in demand anymore or no one was interested in her art, indeed it was the opposite, poor Cecilia as talented as she was, just couldn't do the work anymore. In 1942 she died at the ripe old age of 87, in poverty, but because of a life altering injury. Had it not been for her injury, I suspect that she would have been painting successfully till her death.

She may have been forgotten for the past 50 years or so, but people are starting to realize what an artist she truly was again. I suspect that a lot of folks and museums are going to be dusting her off and showing her off more often! I hope to see more of her hanging around.

I would like to mention a lot of this information was from an article written by Melissa Crawford for the Portrait Society of Atlanta's 'Folio'. I just wanted to pass this information on to y'all.

Well, after all that I guess you really know who my vote really swings towards!

Here is a link to an intesting essay! http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/3aa/3aa300.htm.

Under the Skin: Reconsidering Cecilia Beaux and John Singer Sargent. by Sarah Burns

Read, Learn, Enjoy!

Cecilia Beaux's works are all over the internet and there are many reproduction out there that you can obtain.

I too have had a hard time finding her images. There are normally two parts to a lasting, profitable career in painting (besides luck etc.) quality and the other we sometimes forget; quantity. There are always artists doing a few nice works each year with financial troubles. I don't know her details and couldn't open the link, but I have always wished she had produced MORE; such are the magic of the few gems I've seen.

http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/3aa/3aa300.htm

The period at the end of the sentence got included as part of the address.

Thanks Jeff for that correction. Sorry I messed some folks up out there. Try again.

Humm, In the article I just read I was struck by a few things that sounded CREATIVE in the writing. I don't remember many folks calling Sargent "manly or masculine" that actually knew him.

The article also said something about "Sargent's uncompromising realism", when most of the criticism about his work said he was "flashy and flattering" to clients. I'm not sure I agree with much in the article.

Just comparing the apples with the apples! Both artists were absolutely breathtaking in the way they executed their work. I just lean more towards Cecilia's work, she's the sweeter looking apple! Maybe I'm just rooting for the girls. Folks always say,"Art is subjective" and "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

There are a few more essays posted on that particular site about Cecilia.

BTW, there have been 14 of Cecilia's oil paintings sold on the auction block in the past eight years and a number of watercolors, all these images have remained in the private sector. ;C Sigh! Does anyone have a tissue?

Dear Chris,

The website for Zhou Sicong (1939-1986)is
www.chinese-art.com/Contemporary/

Thanks!!!

Lynn, it's very good work. At least,the few paintings of hers I've been able to find are very nice. Next to Sargent and Zorn she holds up wonderfully, how many artists of any gender can say that?

Turn of the Century Swedish Babes!
 

Why did you choose to throw a Swedish painter in there that painted 'healthy' girls? Has something been missed here? ;) Is my blonde hair getting in the way of understanding things here!

Yes, Zorn did beautiful portraits and what I think are even better nudes, than portraits! I love all his nudes.

Is it that all three saw things almost in the same light?

Tim, you made a good point and I'm glad you brought up Anders Zorn. He is just another example from that particular era that validates art was at its best right then and there. What happened to make it all change like it has? Where's a time machine when you need one?

Looking at Zorn's nudes makes this middle-aged gal feel a little bit better about herself. :sunnysmil

I still like Cecilia best!

There was a book out by the Smithsonian Institution Press, "Cecelia Beaux and the Art of Portraiture," by Tara Leigh Tappert. It may still be available. There are some color plates, but unfortunately, most of it is black and white.

As to the debate, I guess it goes back to which images you pair up for comparison. But safe to say, I think, that on a good day she could give Sargent a run for his money.

Lynn, these pieces (artists) were really together in the same room. You're right about Zorn.

Where?
 

When, where, why, how, but we know whose? Where did this happen Tim? When? Why didn't or don't I know about this? Where was I?

Tom, found the book about Cecilia out there but it starts at 85.00;C She did write an auto-biography and an instrutional book on the figure, those I would love to find!

Here's a page with some links to Cecilia's work. http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/beaux_cecilia.html

And, on ebay, here's Man with a Cat on canvas: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=20128

Ernesta
 

Thanks, I have always thought that this work was clever and a neat design in the way the child's head is next to the dark area and the grown-up is implied only.

I was able to get a hold of a rare copy of Beaux's autobiography, "Background with Figures" that is a real insight into her life and work. She's in my top 3 favorite painters.

Cecilia Beaux Shopping
 

After a little bit of research I was able to obtain a copy of 'Backgrounds with Figures, Autobiography of Cecilia Beaux' and 'Cecilia Beaux: A Book of Early Drawings', the last being a portfolio that was published soon after her death in 1942 which contains 32 plates. It is sketches from her early Paris days. Now the next few days will be spent in the living room with my nose pressed to the window awaiting for my packages of goodies. You can go to www.abebooks.com or www.choosebooks.com for all your rare or out of print book needs.

Leonardo is another.

You are correct!