artists
Cecilia Beaux, Portrait Painter
During her lifetime, Cecelia Beaux (1855-1942) was well-known in the social circles who had their portraits painted. She was often compared to John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), whose career overlapped with Beaux’s— both for her style and for her place as one of the leading society portrait painters of her day.[1] Both blended academic realism with…
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Neysa McMein: Illustrator and Jazz Age Icon
Illustrator Neysa McMein (1888-1949) was born Marjorie McMein in Quincy, Illinois in 1888. She left Quincy and the name Marjorie behind as soon as she could. After high school, Marjorie left Quincy for Chicago where she studied commercial art at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1913, she moved to New York, where she changed…
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Before Walt Disney…
A decade before Walt Disney released his first animated short, “Alice’s Day at the Sea” in 1924, illustrator Louis Glackens (1866-1933) created trailblazing animated shorts featuring mermaids, anthropomorphic beasts, and political satire. His career has often been treated as a footnote to that of his younger brother, Ashcan School artist William J. Glackens.[1] Both Glackens…
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