She came to be well admired and recognized for her paintings. Due to her skill, she was able to get help from her family and admirers of her work and she succeeded in traveling to study in Paris to further develop her skills. Her early ‘feminine’ commercial work gave her a good sense of business and of art, both of which she used to develop herself as a skilled and successful portraitist. Beaux knew that she could either be a professional artist or she could be a woman artist – there was little room for both titles to coexist. Part of the reason Beaux hated her decorative work so much is because it was work that could be defined as female. Cecilia Beaux, Man with the Cat (Henry Sturgis Drinker) oil on canvas, 1898 Yet even if she could not see it, she made use of the limitations prescribed to her, learning and developing where she was allowed until she gained enough skills to truly enter the world of art. As a woman, however, she had had no alternative. As a person who aspired to make good art, Beaux understandably felt that the commercial works she created were beneath her. Ironically, it was this kind of ‘feminine’ work that Beaux developed skills in drawing and painting, and discovered an interest in portraiture, an interest that would define her career as a professional artist. It was another form of commercial, decorative work, and one that she hated. She also learned to paint portraits of children onto ceramic plates. Notably, she did fossil illustrations as part of work for the United States Geological Survey. When a teenage Cecilia Beaux began to work in art, that was exactly the kind of work she started with. The male-dominated society in the United States believed that women were not suited for the academic side of art, instead believing that women should focus on “commercial and decorative work”. In the late 1800s, there were certain forms of art that were considered female, and others that were not. Cecilia Beaux, Self Portrait, oil on canvas, 1894 Beaux’s career was often defined by this label over which she had no control, and it impacted her career in varying ways, all as she frequently tried to remove herself from its power. She was also a woman, one whose career started in the late 19th century, at a time when women were not even allowed to vote. Cecilia Beaux was an artist who undoubtedly showed immense talent and skill in her work. Other times, these labels ultimately restrict people, leading to unfair judgement. Sometimes these labels can help people find a sense of common identity. People can be defined by a whole host of characteristics, from race to gender, sexuality to wealth. Humans seem to have a natural tendency to categorize people, perhaps as a way of understanding. Audio recording of the full chapter can be found here:Īnyone can find themselves defined by certain labels.
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