Marion H. Beckett

Marion Hasbrouck Beckett (February 7, 1886 – 1949) was an American painter.[1]

Marion H. Beckett
Marion H. Beckett, 1921
Born(1886-02-07)February 7, 1886
New York, New York
Died1949
Resting placeWilliamstown, Vermont
NationalityAmerican
Known forPortrait paintings

Early life and education

Beckett was born in New York on February 7, 1886. Her parents were Charles Henry Beckett, originally from Williamstown, Vermont, and Estelle Josephine (Newman) Beckett of Watkins, New York.[2][3] She was left with a large fortune following her father's death[4] on November 29, 1917. She was Charles and Estelle's only child.[3]

She exhibited a number of paintings at the Annual Philadelphia Water Color Exhibition in 1908.[5] In 1908, Beckett traveled to Paris with Katharine Rhoades and Malvina Hoffman and studied in France for two years.[6] Rhoades had been her friend since 1904 when Rhoades made her debut in New York City.[7] The family was on the Social Register in New York.[8]

Career
Marion H. Beckett, Still Life, ca. 1920

A member of Alfred Stieglitz’s artistic circle in New York City, Beckett was known primarily as a portrait painter.[9] Her Portrait of Mrs. Charles H. Beckett and Portrait of Mrs. Eduard J. Steichen were exhibited in the 1913 Armory Show.[10] In 1915, Beckett and Rhodes had a joint exhibition at Stieglitz’s 291 Gallery.[11] Prior to that, the only works of a female non-photographer that Stieglitz exhibited were that of Pamela Colman Smith in 1907.[12] Marion Beckett and her friends Katharine Rhoades and Agnes Ernst Meyer were known as the "Three Graces" of 291,[11][13] an accolade bestowed by Charles Lang Freer.[14] Agnes Ernst Meyer described Marion as one of "the most beautiful young women that ever walked this earth". She was also described as shy and reserved.[11]

In January 1917, Beckett presented a show of portraits at Marius de Zayas's Modern Gallery.[9] Among the portraits were one that she made of herself, one of her father, Alfred Stieglitz, and Eugene Meyer.[15] A Beckett portrait of Georgia O'Keeffe, made in 1916,[16] was chosen to illustrate a Vanity Fair article in 1922[17] and a New York Sun article about O'Keeffe's work in 1923. It was also the lead portrait of Beckett's show, which also included a portrait of Katharine Rhoades,[18][19] in New York at Montross Gallery in January 1925.[16]

In the 1920s, she was the president and a director of the Beckett Water Supply Company. Estelle Beckett was vice-president and a director.[20][21]

Beckett stopped painting about 1926. Fifteen of her paintings were stored by family members until 1997, including the portraits of O'Keeffe and Agnes Meyers.[16]

Personal life
Marion H. Beckett, Portrait of Mrs. Eduard J. Steichen
Marion H. Beckett, Eduard J. Steichen, 1915

Beckett often traveled to Voulangis, France with Agnes Meyer and Katharine Rhoades to visit artist Edward Steichen and his wife and paint portraits.[22] She was the sole guest at their house at the beginning of World War I in 1914, when Germans soldiers were advancing towards the town. They were able to evacuate two days before the Germans arrived at the Steichen's house.[23] In 1917, she worked as a canteen worker for the Red Cross in France,[16][24] and it was during this time period that she is believed to have begun an affair with Steichen.[16]

By 1919, Beckett established a studio in the Latin Quarter of Paris, where she entertained Steichen. They were believed to have traveled together from France to New York and Vermont, where her mother lived.[4] In 1919, Clara Steichen sued Marion Beckett for $200,000 damages for "Alienation of affections", claiming that Marion had followed her husband to France and had an affair. Clara was unable to prove her claims.[25][26] It was reported that Beckett had a ten-year affair with Steichen, until about 1926 when she stopped painting.[16]

By 1926, she had an adopted son and daughter. She spent the summers in a house in Williamstown, Vermont[16][27] and was living in New York City in 1930.[28]

References
  1. Drohojowska-Philp, Hunter (2006). Full bloom : the art and life of Georgia O'Keeffe (1st ed.). New York: W. W. Norton. p. 94. ISBN 978-0393327410. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  2. "Marion H. Beckett, passport application", NARA Series: Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925; Roll #: 401; Volume #: Roll 0401 - Certificates: 64901-65200, 08 Sep 1917-10 Sep 1917, Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), September 7, 1917
  3. "Charles Henry Beckett". The Sun. New York, New York. November 30, 1917. Retrieved January 31, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  4. "Mrs. Edouard J. Steichen Brings Action Against Miss Marion H. Beckett; Story of Alleged Pursuit". New York Tribute. July 5, 1919. Retrieved January 31, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  5. Catalogue of the Annual Philadelphia Water Color Exhibition. Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. 1908. pp. 8, 38, 50, 57, 69, 71, 72.
  6. Wardle, Marian (2005). American women modernists. [Provo (Utah)]: Brigham Young university Museum of Art. p. 223. ISBN 978-0813536842. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  7. "What is Doing in Society". The New York Times. December 11, 1904. p. 7. Retrieved January 31, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  8. Social Register, Summer. Social Register Association. 1920. p. 23.
  9. Zayas, Marius de (1996). Naumann, Francis M. (ed.). How, when, and why modern art came to New York. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. p. 147. ISBN 9780262041539. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  10. Association of American Painters and Sculptors (New York, N.Y.) (1913). Catalogue of International Exhibition of Modern Art. New York. p. 53. ISBN 9785871491003. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  11. Messinger, Lisa Mintz, ed. (2011). Stieglitz and his artists : Matisse to O'Keeffe : the Alfred Stieglitz collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 237. ISBN 9781588394330.
  12. Laurie Lisle (November 16, 2010). Portrait of an Artist. Simon and Schuster. p. PT75. ISBN 978-1-4516-2873-9.
  13. Murphy, Jessica (2009). Portraiture and feminine identity in the Stieglitz Circle: Agnes Ernst Meyer, Katharine Rhoades, and Marion Beckett (Dissertation). Ann Arbor: University of Delaware. ProQuest 734722358.
  14. "Busted! The Secret Lives of Agnes Meyer and Charles Lang Freer". Bento: Art Outside the Box. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  15. Marius De Zayas (1998). How, When, and Why Modern Art Came to New York. MIT Press. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-262-54096-4.
  16. William A. MacNeil (July 17, 1997). "O'Keeffe Portrait Rediscovered by Painter's Family". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved January 18, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  17. Laurie Lisle (November 16, 2010). "Marion+Beckett" Portrait of an Artist. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4516-2873-9.
  18. Mathews, Nancy Mowll (2001). American dreams : American art to 1950 in the Williams College Museum of Art (1st ed.). New York: Hudson Hills Press. pp. 136–138. ISBN 978-1555952105.
  19. Roxana Robinson; Georgia O'Keeffe (1989). Georgia O'Keeffe: A Life. UPNE. pp. 148–149. ISBN 978-0-87451-906-8.
  20. Vermont. Public Service Commission (1920). "Beckett Water Supply Company". Vermont Public Documents. p. 167.
  21. Vermont. Public Service Commission (1922). "Beckett Water Supply Company". Vermont Public Documents. p. 167.
  22. Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.); Magdalena Dabrowski (2011). Stieglitz and His Artists: Matisse to O'Keeffe : the Alfred Stieglitz Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 237. ISBN 978-1-58839-433-0.
  23. Von Hardesty (November 30, 2015). Camera Aloft: Edward Steichen in the Great War. Cambridge University Press. p. PT27. ISBN 978-1-316-41614-3.
  24. American National Red Cross. War Council (1917). "American Women in Canteens". The Work of the American Red Cross: Report by the War Council of Appropriations and Activities from Outbreak of War to November 1, 1917. American Red cross. p. 90.
  25. "Artist's Wife Sues for Loss of His Love; Mrs. Edouard Steichen Says Marion Beckett Alienated Her Husband's Affections". The New York Times. July 5, 1919. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  26. Mitchell, Emily (2007). The last summer of the world. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-06487-2. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  27. "Williamstown". The Burlington Free Press. June 23, 1926. p. 10. Retrieved January 31, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  28. "Williamstown". The Burlington Free Press. May 12, 1930. p. 5. Retrieved January 31, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
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