Beaux Revival
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| Cecilia Beaux |
mother died two weeks after she was born. Cecilia rejected many offers of marriage, was never brushed by scandal, devoted her life almost entirely to pursuit of excellence as portraitist of women and children. It does not take much of an amateur psychoanalyst to surmise she was dominated by fear of pregnancy, and possibly guilt about causing her mother's death. But living in the Victorian era before Lister and Pasteur would make childbirth safe, her sort of life was not as unusual as it is today, except for her notable thirst for achievement. An aristocratic bringing up almost certainly contained a strong condemnation of boasting and self-promotion, with the result that she is sometimes referred to as a perfect model for the graduates of Bryn Mawr College, although she did not attend there. Placing its emphasis on success for women other than or in addition to marriage, the quiet determined graduates make a goal of achievement, not fame. Beaux became the finest woman portraitist in America, possibly the finest portraitist anywhere, but it was a title she earned and deserved without theatrics or egotism. Lots of eligible men found this attractive, but she retreated for her own reasons in her own graceful way.
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| Monica Zimmerman |
Monica Zimmermanlectures on this and other topics at the Museum, and recently talked at the Right Angle Club. We are grateful to her for pointing out the influence of
The other feature to be noticed about the Beaux exhibit is her outstanding ability to work with white. There are white gowns, white frilly dresses, white upholstery in a profusion seen rarely, because it is so difficult to do.
Go see the exhibit. It's an event that will be talked about for a long time.
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118 N. Broad Street Broad and Cherry Streets Philadelphia, PA 19102  |
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