Portrait of Mrs. Addison C. Harris
Portrait of Mrs. Addison C. Harris
Artist
Creation date
1917
Materials
oil on canvas
Dimensions
55 x 41 1/2 in.
59 1/2 x 47 in. (framed)
Credit line
Gift of Mrs. Addison C. Harris
Accession number
17.253
Collection
Currently On View In
Hunt Rotunda Gallery
Born in Philadelphia, Beaux studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and at the Académie Julian in Paris. She was later appointed to the faculty at the Pennsylvania Academy, becoming their first full-time female instructor.
Beaux’s success as a portrait painter rested on her keen sense of color, texture, and composition, as well as her ability to capture the essence of the sitter.
Mrs. Addison C. Harris was one of the first presidents of the Art Association of Indianapolis, the forerunner of the IMA. Mrs. Harris is posed in a relaxed yet dignified manner in front of an alpine scene, probably a painted screen belonging to the artist.
Turn of the Century
Cecilia Beaux
Portrait of Mrs. Addison C. Harris., 1917
oi on canvas
55 x 41 in.
Gift of Mrs. Addison C. Harris
Learn More
Raised in Philadelphia by her maternal relatives, Cecilia Beaux exhibited talent at an early age. She enrolled in a private painting class for women at age twenty at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and then traveled to Paris to study at the Académie Julian. She was later appointed to the faculty of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, becoming their first full time woman instructor. After returning to America in 1889, Beaux settled in New York City, setting up a studio in Washington Square. She became a celebrity and socialized with prominent individuals. The success of her society portraits rested on Beaux’s ability to convey a keen sense of color, texture and composition and the talent to capture the essence of her sitter. She had a vibrant, fluid style reminiscent of impressionism, but Beaux staunchly maintained her artistic independence from any specific movement.
The portrait of Mrs. Harris was painted in Beaux’s Philadelphia studio at Gloucester, Massachusetts. The alpine backdrop probably derives from a painted screen belonging to the artist. The broad, skillful brushwork was well suited for transcribing the sheer veiling of the sitter’s hat and dress. Beaux’s proven ability to select comfortable poses, and her straightforward approach to her subject, produced a dignified yet sympathetic portrait. The portrait was painted at the request of the Board of Directors of the Art Association of Indianapolis who were eager to add to the Museum’s collection a fine example of the work of the renowned Cecilia Beaux, and to honor Mrs. Harris’s service. Mrs. Harris was one of the original incorporators of the Art Association and the recording secretary from 1883 to 1889 and served as its president from 1904 to 1907, the period in which the John Herron Art Institute was planned and erected.
Reference
Alice A. Carter. Cecilia Beaux: A Modern Painter in the Gilded Age, New York, Rizzoli, 2005. ISBN-13: 978-0847827084
Sylvia Yount, et.al. Cecelia Beaux: American Figure Painter, Berkely: University of California Press, 2007. ISBN-13: 978-0520253186
