Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 7

Gifford Beal
Bareback Act, Old Hippodrome

1950

About the Item

Gifford Beal (1879-1956) "Bareback Act, Old Hippodome" 1950 Lithograph Signed Lower Right With original Associated American Artists label verso image: 6 3/8 x 9 5/8 in. (16.2 x 24.6 cm) sheet: 12 x 16 in. (30.4 x 40.6 cm) framed: 17 x 20 in. Gifford Beal, painter, etcher, muralist, and teacher, was born in New York City in 1879. The son of landscape painter William Reynolds Beal, Gifford Beal began studying at William Merritt Chase's Shinnecock School of Art (the first established school of plein air painting in America) at the age of thirteen, when he accompanied his older brother, Reynolds, to summer classes. He remained a pupil of Chase's for ten years also studying with him in New York City at the artist's private studio in the Tenth Street Studio Building. Later at his father's behest, he attended Princeton University from 1896 to 1900 while still continuing his lessons with Chase. Upon graduation from Princeton he took classes at the Art Students' League, studying with impressionist landscape painter Henry Ward Ranger and Boston academic painter Frank Vincent DuMond. He ended up as President of the Art Students League for fourteen years, "a distinction unsurpassed by any other artist." His student days were spent entirely in this country. "Given the opportunity to visit Paris en route to England in 1908, he chose to avoid it" he stated, "I didn't trust myself with the delightful life in ParisIt all sounded so fascinating and easy and loose." His subjects were predominately American, and it has been said stylistically "his art is completely American." Gifford achieved early recognition in the New York Art World. He became an associate member of the National Academy of Design in 1908 and was elected to full status of academician in 1914. He was known for garden parties, circuses, landscapes, streets, coasts, flowers and marines. This diversity in subject matter created "no typical or characteristic style to his work." Beal's style was highly influenced by Chase and Childe Hassam, a long time friend of the Beal family who used to travel "about the countryside with Beal in a car sketching local sights." Both Hassam and Chase were famous for their impressionist views of New York City and Connecticut and Long Island coastlines. Beal's early work reflects his acquaintance with these painters and focused on the city's commercial and industrial growth. "Beal's major influence, however, remained Chase, whose "greatness" Beal attributed to the "sheer fullness of his naturehis store of energy," and his dedication to the profession of painting. "When the story of American art is finally told," Beal predicted, "Chase's name will be high on the list of the great." Regarding his use of color, one art critic wrote: "On the whole he is inclined toward color that is rich and strong. The garden scenes have masses of deep and gleaming foliage over the gay scenes below. The circus pictures are resplendent in hue. He takes the rich green that crowns the cliffs at Montauk and with it gives depth and richness to their tawny sides. The ocean in Sword Fisherman is an intense blue, neither light nor dark, and full of almost imperceptible shadings." Beal found early success with his views of the Hudson Valley where his family had an estate called Willellen in Newburgh, overlooking the Hudson River. A gifted technician and draftsman Beal did considerable mural painting including seven panels portraying the life of scientist John Henry; North Country and Tropical Country, Department of the Interior building, Washington, D.C and others. Renewing an early interest for the sea, a subject he had favored during his student years, Beal started to achieve recognition for his marine landscapes. In 1921 he began spending most of his summers on the Massachusetts coast, first at Provincetown and then at Rockport. Both he and his brother Reynolds had a strong attraction to the sea. In the 1940's, Beal, never one to rest on his laurels made a dramatic stylistic change, his painting technique "became freer as he replaced naturalistic perspective with an intricately patterned and flattened picture plane." These "more decorative" works echoed ancient Persian paintings as well as the work of Maurice and Charles Prendergast whose art Beal greatly admired. In the end he adopted a "less objective" style that was high key and "utilizing softer edges." This new work was said to be influenced by Raoul Dufy. However many influences one may choose to cite in Beal's work this is secondary to the fact that Gifford Beal throughout his artistic career derived a strongly personal statement in his art that was "fundamentally sound and aesthetically pleasing." Beal's paintings have been exhibited at the National Academy of Design, 1901-1921, 1923, 1930-1938, 1942-1943, 1947-1952, 1954-1956; Worcester Art Museum (prize), 1903; Art Institute Chicago, 1904, 1909-1919, 1921,1923-1932, 1934, 1936-1944, 1946 and 1949; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1904, 1906, 1908-09, 1911-12, 1914-16, 1918-20, 1924-26, 1929-30, 1932-47, 1950, 1952 and 1956; St. Louis Exposition (medal) 1904; Armory Show, 1913; Corcoran Gallery, Washington, DC; Panama Pacific Exposition, (medal) 1915; Society of Independent Artists, 1917; Kraushaar Galleries; International Exposition, Paris; Carnegie Institute; Retrospective Exhibition, Century Club, NY; San Francisco Museum; San Joaquin Museum; Des Moines Art Center; Butler Institute; Scripps College; American Academy of Arts and Letters; Phillips Collection; Montclair Art Museum and others. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Institute of Arts and Letters, the Architectural League of America, and the National Society of Mural Painters. His work can be found in numerous museums and public collections across the country. Gifford Beal passed away on Feb. 5th 1956 at the age of seventy-five in New York City.
More From This SellerView All
  • Can't Wait
    By After Norman Rockwell
    Located in Missouri, MO
    Norman Rockwell "Can't Wait" 1977 Lithograph Signed Lower Right Numbered Lower Left 186/200 Sheet Size: 30 x 24 inches Framed Size: 30.5 ...
    Category

    1970s American Realist Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • The Hymn Singer
    By Thomas Hart Benton
    Located in Missouri, MO
    Signed in Pencil Lower Right Ed. 500 Circulated by Twayne Publishers, New York City Image Size: 16 x 12 3/8 Framed Size: 24 1/4 x 20 1/2 inches The legendary actor actor and musici...
    Category

    1950s American Realist Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Work and Play
    By Gordon Grant
    Located in Missouri, MO
    Gordan Hope Grant (1875-1962) "Work and Play" Lithograph Signed in Pencil Lower Right Image Size: 9 x 11.5 inches Framed Size: approx 18 x 20.5 inches Born in San Francisco, Gordon Grant is known for his etchings and paintings of marine subjects. He also painted portraits, streets, harbors, beaches and marines, and was an illustrator, whose work included pulp fiction* for Popular Detective magazine in the 1930s. Skilled with watercolor, Grant was honored many times by the American Watercolor Society*. Memberships included the Society of Illustrators*, Salmagundi Club*, Allied Artists of America*, New York Society of Painters, and American Federation of Artists*. At age 13, he was sent to Scotland for schooling, and the four-month sail around Cape Horn remained a permanent influence on his career. He studied art in Heatherly and at the Lambeth School of Art* in London, and then in 1895, he became a staff artist for the San Francisco Examiner. The next year, he took the same type of job for the New York World and covered the Boer War for Harper's Weekly. He also worked for Puck magazine...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century American Realist Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Barbershop Quartet
    By After Norman Rockwell
    Located in Missouri, MO
    After Norman Rockwell Reproduction print of "Barbershop Quartet" 1936 Lithograph Signed in Pencil Lower Right Numbered Lower Left 182/200 This i...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century American Realist Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Charwomen in Theater
    By After Norman Rockwell
    Located in Missouri, MO
    Norman Rockwell "Charwomen in Theater" 1946 Lithograph Signed in Pencil Lower Right Numbered Lower Left 160/200 Site Size: approx 26 x 20 inches Framed Size: approx. 34.5 x 28.5 inc...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century American Realist Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • The County Election
    By George Caleb Bingham
    Located in Missouri, MO
    George Caleb Bingham (American, Missouri, 1811-1879) Painted by G. C. Bingham. Engraved by John Sartain, published by Goupil and Co. The County Election, 1854 Hand Colored Engraving 21 1/4 x 30 inches (image) 30 x 37 inches (sheet) 31.5 x 39 inches (framed) The following exhibition review is from The Kansas City Star, September 8, 2013, and refers to an exhibition at the Jackson County Historical Society. By BRIAN BURNES The Kansas City Star Three judges can be found on the second floor of the renovated Jackson County Truman Courthouse in Independence. That wouldn't be unusual, except for the way the judges gaze upon visitors — steady, unmoving and frozen on canvas. Turns out all three judges sat for 19th century Missouri artist George Caleb Bingham. Now their portraits hang on a wall of the new Jackson County Museum of Art, opening Saturday in the recently renovated courthouse, not far from the offices of the county's assessments and collections departments. Many of the 27 Bingham artworks displayed are owned by Ken McClain, Independence lawyer and developer. "Bingham is recognized as a national treasure, but his Jackson County roots are not focused on that frequently," McClain said of the artist, who maintained a studio in his Independence home, later served as a Kansas City police commissioner and is buried in Union Cemetery. "I thought the courthouse would be an appropriate place for a museum dedicated to him." Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders worked with McClain to set aside during courthouse renovations several second-floor rooms that have been transformed into a gallery. Ceiling-mounted pendant lamps that recall the courthouse's 1933 renovation now hang alongside track lighting. Long blinds have been installed in the building's tall window frames to protect the paintings, some of them about 150 years old. "Ken's vision has moved the courthouse renovation from a great project to an incredible one, increasing its value exponentially," Sanders said. "Visitors will come here from all over the country." The Bingham artworks make up the principal holdings of the nonprofit museum, which will be administered by its own board of directors. Other works are on loan from the State Historical Society of Missouri and the Jackson County Historical Society. McClain hopes that future acquisitions, as well as other loaned artworks, can be rotated through the holdings. Bingham began painting about 1830. Although his reputation today may rest on paintings such as The Jolly Flatboatmen...
    Category

    Mid-19th Century American Realist Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Engraving

You May Also Like
  • [Untitled] Beach Scene
    By Harriet Keese Lanfair
    Located in New York, NY
    Harriet (Keese) Lanfair (1900-1988) lithograph, c. 1935, signed in pencil on lower right margin. Printed on a very light japan paper, with margins. A proof impression, with printers...
    Category

    1930s American Realist Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Dawn, Lithograph by Will Barnet
    By Will Barnet
    Located in Long Island City, NY
    Artist: Will Barnet, American (1911 - 2012) Title: Dawn Year: 1975 Medium: Lithograph on Arches, signed in pencil Edition: 59/175 Image Size: 24 x 11 in. Frame Size: 36 x 25 inches ...
    Category

    1970s American Realist Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Untitled, Street Scene
    By Raphael Soyer
    Located in San Francisco, CA
    Artist: Raphael Soyer (Russian, American, 1899-1987) Title: Untitled Year: Circa 1975 Medium: Lithograph Edition: Inscribed A.P (Artist Proof) in pencil Paper: Arches Image s...
    Category

    Late 20th Century American Realist Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • "Models & Horses, " Original Color Lithograph signed by Philip Pearlstein
    By Philip Pearlstein
    Located in Milwaukee, WI
    "Models & Horses" is an original color lithograph by Philip Pearlstein. The artist signed the piece lower left and it is edition 15/140. This piece features two nude female models lo...
    Category

    1990s American Realist Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Tennis (Tennis Tournament)
    By George Wesley Bellows
    Located in New York, NY
    George Bellows (1882-1925), Tennis (Tennis Tournament), lithograph, 1921, signed in pencil lower right, also signed and annotated by the printer Bolton Brown, imp lower left, and num...
    Category

    1920s American Realist Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • "French Air Show with Remarque of Head of Pilot, " Lithograph & Stencil by GAMY
    By Marguerite Montaut
    Located in Milwaukee, WI
    "French Air Show with Remarque of Head of Pilot" is an original lithograph and stencil print by Marguerite Montaut (GAMY). It depicts an early airplane flying above a crowd of specta...
    Category

    1910s American Realist Landscape Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph, Stencil, Ink

Recently Viewed

View All