Lot 163: James Carroll Beckwith (1852-1917 New York, NY)

''The Letter'', portrait of a woman seated in a garden with a St. Charles Spaniel, signed lower right: Carroll Beckwith, titled on a frame plaque, oil on linen laid to canvas, 20'' H x 16'' W, est: $100,000/150,000. Exhibited: Bernard Black Gallery, New York, NY, ''Gallery's Image - 1965'', p. 7, illustrated. Note: 'The Letter'' is an exceptional example of James Carroll Beckwith's naturalistic portraiture. Beckwith, who disliked his first name and went by Carroll or ''Becky'', was a noted American landscape, genre and portrait painter who vigorously adhered to academic style in his teaching but incorporated Impressionistic elements of light and execution 'en plein air' into his own work. Beckwith was born in Hannibal, Missouri, but his family moved to Chicago when the artist was an infant. After high school, Beckwith enrolled at the Chicago Academy of Design with his good friend Frederick Stuart Church, and the two studied drawing under Conrad Diehl. A year or so later, Beckwith and his family moved to New York where the artist enrolled in National Academy of Design. In 1873, Beckwith travelled to Europe for the first time, spending five years abroad, mostly in Paris. There he worked in the studio of Emile Carolus-Duran (who would remain a major influence on Beckwith?s portraiture), enrolled at the Academie Suisse and Ecole Des Beaux Arts and also studied with Leon Bonnat. He also befriended fellow American students John Singer Sargent, Frank Fowler and William Merritt Chase. Returning to New York in 1878, Beckwith was hired, along with Chase, at the Art Students League. Beckwith?s class was considered rigorous and academic while Chase taught a freer style. Beckwith was an instructor there for 20 years. While teaching, Beckwith had a studio in the Sherwood Studio Building in Manhattan where he focused on painting portraits and idealized female figures. He exhibited annually at the National Academy of Design and was active in local arts and civics organizations. Beckwith was renowned for his flattering depictions of society women and men, including military portraits, and his portraits of fellow artist friends were also incredibly popular. Beckwith had an unwavering lifetime commitment to the tenets of academic art, particularly when it came to teaching, but his own work also suggests influences of Impressionism garnered from his experiences in France. In the present work, a central figure and her dog are seated in a verdant garden setting. The tightly composed figural arrangement is juxtaposed with lively brushwork and a play of light and shadow. Dappled light highlights the figure's white blouse and a dynamic play of sunlight and shadow on the green lawn focus the viewer?s attention on the contemplative expression and gesture of the figure. The woman's prim dress and loyal dog are the personification of Victorian correctness but Beckwith imbues the sitter with personality through her candid and private demeanor and by seating her on a naturalistically painted log.

20'' H x 16'' W

oil on linen laid to canvas

Visual: Generally good condition. Isolated, stable craquelure in the white pigments of the figure's shirt, across her left hand and on the dog. Blacklight: A few small spots fluoresce in the background in the upper right and along the upper edge but this may be artist pigments. An area, approximately .5'' x 1'', along the figure's right shoulder fluoresces also possibly due to artist re-touchings. Scattered uneven varnish.

Bernard Black Gallery, New York, NY, ''Gallery's Image - 1965'', p. 7, illustrated

Bernard Black Gallery, New York, NY; acquired from the above by Mr. Alfred Lovell, July 12, 1965 (see copy of invoice)

'The Letter'' is an exceptional example of James Carroll Beckwith's naturalistic portraiture. Beckwith, who disliked his first name and went by Carroll or ''Becky'', was a noted American landscape, genre and portrait painter who vigorously adhered to academic style in his teaching but incorporated Impressionistic elements of light and execution 'en plein air' into his own work. Beckwith was born in Hannibal, Missouri, but his family moved to Chicago when the artist was an infant. After high school, Beckwith enrolled at the Chicago Academy of Design with his good friend Frederick Stuart Church, and the two studied drawing under Conrad Diehl. A year or so later, Beckwith and his family moved to New York where the artist enrolled in National Academy of Design. In 1873, Beckwith travelled to Europe for the first time, spending five years abroad, mostly in Paris. There he worked in the studio of Emile Carolus-Duran (who would remain a major influence on Beckwith?s portraiture), enrolled at the Academie Suisse and Ecole Des Beaux Arts and also studied with Leon Bonnat. He also befriended fellow American students John Singer Sargent, Frank Fowler and William Merritt Chase. Returning to New York in 1878, Beckwith was hired, along with Chase, at the Art Students League. Beckwith?s class was considered rigorous and academic while Chase taught a freer style. Beckwith was an instructor there for 20 years. While teaching, Beckwith had a studio in the Sherwood Studio Building in Manhattan where he focused on painting portraits and idealized female figures. He exhibited annually at the National Academy of Design and was active in local arts and civics organizations. Beckwith was renowned for his flattering depictions of society women and men, including military portraits, and his portraits of fellow artist friends were also incredibly popular. Beckwith had an unwavering lifetime commitment to the tenets of academic art, particularly when it came to teaching, but his own work also suggests influences of Impressionism garnered from his experiences in France. In the present work, a central figure and her dog are seated in a verdant garden setting. The tightly composed figural arrangement is juxtaposed with lively brushwork and a play of light and shadow. Dappled light highlights the figure's white blouse and a dynamic play of sunlight and shadow on the green lawn focus the viewer?s attention on the contemplative expression and gesture of the figure. The woman's prim dress and loyal dog are the personification of Victorian correctness but Beckwith imbues the sitter with personality through her candid and private demeanor and by seating her on a naturalistically painted log