WOMAN IN ART
lithographed. And there is a peculiar quality in a lithographed line; it is "crumbly," not solid black. With pencil I could not produce that peculiar quality. And I can remember how unhappy I was because I wanted my copy to be perfect in every detail."
About this time the young artist became very ambitious, and took a large canvas on which to paint the portrait of her sister and her little son, just when he was getting too big to sit on mother's lap, "too uncomfortable for his body and for his pride." The desired dress for the mother not being at hand in her wardrobe, the artist's makeshift was both interesting and practical. A satin sleeve attached to the arm that showed (akin to putting the best foot forward) and the graceful draping of a Canton shawl for the skirt gave the required tone and texture. When asked how the painting turned out, Miss Beaux replied, "It had rather an interesting history. After it was finished, a girl friend of mine who had gone abroad to study happened to come home for a visit. She saw the picture in my studio and wanted to take it back to Paris with her. It seemed an absurd notion to me, but she insisted on carrying it off. In Paris she had it framed and took it on top of a cab to the studio of some well known painter, I think it was Jean Paul Laurenz. He must have given it some praise, for she sent it to the Salon. It was accepted, too!" and the painter laughed at the reminiscence. Then it was that her family agreed to her study in Paris and the life class. For more than a year Miss Beaux continued her studies in the Julian and Lazar Schools, and we may well believe that she absorbed all her teachers had to impart.
In Paris Miss Beaux was made a member of the "Society des Beaux Arts," and one of her very attractive canvases, "Girl With A Cat," was purchased and hung in the Luxembourg Gallery.
Returning to Philadelphia she continued portrait painting, thereby reaping a harvest of prizes, honorable mentions, and medals; at least six or eight gold medals, with handsome cash prize accompaniments, have rewarded her conscientious and artistic work.
Philadelphia was her birthplace, but after a time Miss Beaux opened her studio in New York. Far and wide her portraits have found lodgement in many public institutions and galleries and in scores of private homes. A full length portrait of John Paul Jones hangs in the library of the National Naval Academy at Annapolis. It is full of strong determination; the painter must have put herself in thought and feeling in his place, as he stands, as if on the deck of his ship, equipped for any emergency.
One of the early canvases to shed the dawning light, prophetic of coming
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