James Carroll Beckwith (September 23, 1852 – October 24, 1917) was an American

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

and

genre painter Genre painting (or petit genre), a form of genre art, depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity can be attached ...

whose Naturalist style led to his recognition in the late nineteenth and very early twentieth century as a respected figure in

American art Visual art of the United States or American art is visual art made in the United States or by U.S. artists. Before colonization there were many flourishing traditions of Native American art, and where the Spanish colonized Spanish Colonial arc ...

Biography

Carroll Beckwith, as he preferred to be known, was born in

Hannibal, Missouri Hannibal is a city along the Mississippi River in Marion and Ralls counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 17,312, making it the largest city in Marion County. The bulk of the city is in Mario ...

on September 23, 1852, the son of Charles and Melissa Beckwith. However, he grew up in Chicago where his father started a wholesale grocery business. His grandmother was Hannah Yale, member of the

Yale family Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. In 1868, aged 16, he studied art at the Chicago Academy of Design under

Walter Shirlaw Walter Shirlaw (August 6, 1838 – December 26, 1909) was a Scottish-American artist.''Dictionary of American Biography'' (1936) Charles Scribner's Sons, New York Biography Shirlaw was born in Paisley, Scotland, and moved to the United States ...

until the great fire of 1871 destroyed everything (including much of the heart of the city). He then went to New York and studied at the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

(of which he afterwards became a member) in New York City under

Lemuel Wilmarth Lemuel Everett Wilmarth (November 11, 1835 – July 27, 1918) was an American painter. He was a founder of the Art Students League of New York and a member of the National Academy of Design. He was professor in charge of the schools of the Nation ...

and later traveled on to Paris, staying there from November 1873 until 1878.

In Paris he took drawing courses with

Adolphe Yvon Adolphe Yvon (1817–1893) was a French painter known for his paintings of the Napoleonic Wars. Yvon studied under Paul Delaroche, rose to fame during the Second Empire, then finished his career as a teacher. Career Shortly after the end of th ...

Biography of James Carroll Beckwith and studied painting under

Carolus Duran Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran (Lille 4 July 1837 – 17 February 1917 Paris), was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of high society in Third Republic France. Biograph ...

who in 1877 selected Beckwith and

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

to help him with a mural for the

Palais du Luxembourg The Luxembourg Palace (french: Palais du Luxembourg, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the ...

. Returning to the United States in 1878, he gradually became a prominent figure in American art. His talents as a draftsman secured him a professorship at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

, where he taught from 1878 to 1882 and from 1886 to 1887. As an artist, he concentrated mostly on portraits, figure studies, and detailed renderings of historical monuments, but he never lost his interest in decorative design. He married Bertha Hall on June 1, 1887, and his friend John Singer Sargent gave them a Venetian watercolor as a present. Beckwith on the JSS Virtual Gallery website Beckwith took an active part in the formation of The Fine Arts Society, and was President of the National Free Art League, which attempted to secure the repeal of the American duty on works of art. Among his portraits are those of

William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...

(1882), Miss Jordan (1883),

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

Thomas Allibone Janvier Thomas Allibone Janvier (July 16, 1849 – June 18, 1913) was an American story-writer and historian, born in Philadelphia of Provençal descent. Early life and marriage Janvier received a public school education, then worked in Philadelph ...

John Schofield John McAllister Schofield (September 29, 1831 – March 4, 1906) was an American soldier who held major commands during the American Civil War. He was appointed U.S. Secretary of War (1868–1869) under President Andrew Johnson and later served ...

and

William M. Walton William Martin Walton (January 17, 1832 – July 1, 1915) was a prominent lawyer in Austin, Texas. During the Civil War, Walton served as a major in the Confederate Army. After the war, he was elected attorney general of the state and also ...

. He taught at the

- where

Violet Oakley Violet Oakley (June 10, 1874 – February 25, 1961) was an American artist. She was the first American woman to receive a public mural commission. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, she was renowned as a pathbreaker in mural deco ...

was one of his students. Beckwith received many awards including an Honorable Mention at the Paris Exposition of 1889 and a Gold Medal at the

Atlanta Exposition The Atlanta Exposition Speech was an address on the topic of race relations given by African-American scholar Booker T. Washington on September 18, 1895. The speech, presented before a predominantly white audience at the Cotton States and In ...

in 1895. He also won an award at the Exposition Universelle at Paris in 1899 for what is probably his most celebrated work, his 1886 portrait of

. He won a gold medal at the Charleston Exposition in 1902 and exhibited at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904 showing his painting "The Nautilus" along with a portrait of his wife. Carroll returned to Paris in 1893 to paint a number of murals and then returned to the United States to paint murals on one of the domes in the Liberal Arts Building at the

World Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

in Chicago later in 1893. He lived in Italy from 1910 to 1914 and painted many

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

studies of monuments, buildings, and landscapes. James Carroll Beckwith died of a heart attack in his apartment at the Hotel Schuyler on West Forty-fifth Street in New York City on October 24, 1917, aged 65, after having taken a taxi cab ride with his wife in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

. His papers, including his sketchbooks and the

diaries Diaries may refer to: * the plural of diary *''Diaries: 1971-1976'', a 1981 documentary by Ed Pincus *'' Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years'', a 2006 book by Michael Palin *''OFW Diaries ''OFW Diaries'' is a Philippine television documentary ...

he kept from 1871 until his death in 1917 are held by the

in New York City.James Carroll Beckwith Papers in the National Academy of Design
/ref>

Selection of paintings

File:Beckwith James Carroll Woman with Guitar.jpg, ''Woman with Guitar'' File:Beckwith James Carroll Portrait of Evelyn Nesbit.jpg, ''Portrait of

Evelyn Nesbitt Evelyn Nesbit (born Florence Evelyn Nesbit; December 25, 1884 or 1885 – January 17, 1967) was an American artists' model, chorus girl, and actress. She is best known for her years as a young woman in New York City, particularly her invo ...

'', c. 1901. File:Beckwith James Carroll Sylvan Toilette.jpg, ''Sylvan Toilette'', c. 1898 File:Beckwith James Carroll A Wistful Look.jpg, ''A Wistful Look''. File:Beckwith Mark Twain Portrait.jpg, ''

,'' 1890. File:Beckwith James Carroll Bassin de Neptune Versailles.jpg, ''Bassin de Neptune Versailles''. File:Beckwith James Carroll L-Empereur.jpg, ''L'empereur''. File:Beckwith James Carroll The Palace of the Popes and Pont d-Avignon.jpg, ''The Palace of the Popes and Pont d'Avignon''. File:Beckwith James Carroll Cathedral at le Puy.jpg, ''Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy (

Le Puy-en-Velay Le Puy-en-Velay (, literally ''Le Puy in Velay''; oc, Lo Puèi de Velai ) is the prefecture of the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its ca ...

)''.

References

External links

James Carroll Beckwith diary (in the New York Historical Society), 1895
from the Smithsonian

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washingt ...

James Carroll Beckwith papers, 1878-1924
also from the Archives of American art
Two Beckwith auction catalogs
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF) *http://snapjudgment.org/past-life-detective From National Public Radio’s Snap Judgement, a radio program about a police detective who believes he is the reincarnation of James Carroll Beckwith {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckwith, James Carroll 1852 births 1917 deaths 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters American genre painters American Impressionist painters American landscape painters Art Students League of New York faculty People from Hannibal, Missouri 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists