Beaux, Cecilia

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Cecilia Beaux (bō), 1855–1942, American figure and portrait painter, b. Philadelphia. She studied in Philadelphia under William Sartain (see under Sartain, John) and Thomas Eakins, in Paris in the Julian and Lazar schools. A skilled technician, she won many honors through her long career. She painted a number of wealthy patrons and celebrities, among them Henry James, Clemenceau, and Cardinal Mercier. Well-known paintings include The Dancing Lesson (Art Inst., Chicago), Sita and Sarita (Corcoran Gall.), Portrait of Mrs. Dupont (Mus. of Fine Arts, Boston), and self-portrait (Uffizi).

See her autobiography, Background with Figures (1930).

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