Cecilia Beaux: A Modern Painter in the Gilded Age (Virtual)

“Great works and great people meet nothing strong enough to oppose their destiny.” Cecilia Beaux 1930

Painter Cecilia Beaux (1855-1942) pursued her career with the same commitment and enthusiasm as her male contemporaries. Despite limited opportunities for professional instruction, she managed to piece together an unconventional education, and by the turn of the century, she was widely regarded as one of America’s most successful artists. Author Alice A. Carter will trace Beaux’s unconventional life from a proscribed Philadelphia childhood through her triumphant entry into the male-dominated inner circle of the art world at home and abroad. Beaux’s passion for her work combined with a headstrong spirit enabled her to achieve accolades unrivaled by any other female artist of her time. Nevertheless, she would pay a high personal price for her fame.

About the Speaker: Alice A. Carter is a writer, artist, and Professor Emeritus at San Jose State University. She earned her BFA at the University of the Arts and her MLA at Stanford University. Academic honors include San Jose State’s Outstanding Professor award, a Fulbright Fellowship in Cairo Egypt, the New York Society of Illustrator’s Distinguished Educator in the Arts award, and the Umhoefer Prize for Achievement in the Humanities. Carter’s illustration clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Rolling Stone magazine, The New York Times, and ABC Television. Carter’s publications include The Art of National Geographic: One Hundred Years of Illustration; The Red Rose Girls: An Uncommon Story of Art and Love; The Essential Thomas Eakins; Cecilia Beaux: A Modern Painter in The Gilded Age; The Drawings of Edwin Austin Abbey; and Franklin Booth: Silent Symphony. Carter serves on the Board of Trustees at the Norman Rockwell Museum and is a member of the Hall of Fame Committee at the New York Society of Illustrators.

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Presentation is via Zoom, and will be recorded and available for 7 days for all registered participants. We will email out a Zoom link the day of the presentation, and email a link to the recording within 24 hours. Note: the Zoom link emailed out the day of the presentation only takes you to the live presentation; the link emailed out the day after will contain the recorded version.

This program is made possible with support from The Haverford Trust Company.