Carol H. Beck Gold Medal (defunct) was a prestigious art prize awarded for the best oil portrait by an American artist submitted to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts's annual exhibition. It was named for PAFA alumna and painter/writer/critic Carol H. Beck (1859–1908), whose brother James M. Beck founded the award in her memory. The portrait had to have been painted within the prior three years, and an artist could be awarded the medal only once.[1]

The first Beck Gold Medal was awarded in 1909. Recipients included John Singer Sargent, Robert Henri, George Bellows, John Sloan and Thomas Hart Benton. The last was awarded in 1968. Beginning in 1969, the annual exhibitions were dedicated exclusively to student work from PAFA's school.

Recipients

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Year Artist Image Work Collection Notes
1909 John Singer Sargent   Miss Mathilde Townsend[2] National Gallery of Art,
Washington, D.C.
First Beck Gold Medal awarded
1910 Adolphe Borie   Lady with Black Scarf[3]
1911 Edmund Tarbell   Timothy Dwight, D.D., LL.D.[4] Yale University Art Gallery
1912 Joseph de Camp   Francis I. Amory, Esq.[5]
1913 J. Alden Weir   The Black Hat Brooklyn Museum
1914 Robert Henri   Herself[6] Art Institute of Chicago
1915 Charles Hopkinson H. H. (The Artist's Daughter Harriot)[7] Rhode Island School of Design Museum Exterior, snow scene. Half-length. Harriot Hopkinson, about age 11
1916 Douglas Volk   Dr. Felix Adler[8] Metropolitan Museum of Art
1917 Joseph Thurman Pearson Jr.   The Twins: Virginia and Jane[9] James A. Michener Art Museum,
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
The artist's daughters
1918 Leopold Seyffert Fritz Kreisler[10] National Portrait Gallery,
Washington, D.C.
1919 Leslie P. Thompson Portrait of a Girl
1920 Eugene Speicher Portrait of a Russian Woman
1921 George Bellows   Eleanor, Jean and Anna[11] Albright-Knox Art Gallery,
Buffalo, New York
The artist's aunt, daughter and
mother
1922 Ellen Emmet Rand   The Honorable Donald T. Warner Private collection First woman to be awarded a
Beck Gold Medal
1923 Lilian Westcott Hale[12] Miss Margaret Williams[13]
1924 Sidney E. Dickinson Edward Dickinson Allen Memorial Art Museum,
Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio
1925 William James Alice Howe Gibbens James[14] Private collection
1926 Alice Kent Stoddard Miss S.
1927 William C. Johansen Elihu Root
1928 William Paxton Mrs. Francis R. Strawbridge
1929 Richard Lahey Madame Du Tarte
1930 Leon Kroll Joie[15] The artist's adopted daughter.
1931 John Sloan Vagis, the Sculptor Private collection
1932 Saul Child with Instrument
1933 William Glackens Girl in Black and White[16] Whitney Museum of American Art
1934 Raphael Soyer Gittel[17]
1935 John W. Beauchamp Duck Hunter At 29, the youngest artist to be
awarded a Beck Gold Medal
1936 Jean MacLane Rev. G. A. Studdert-Kennedy
1937 Frank von der Lancken My Mother
1938 Arnold Blanch Portrait of a Man[18]
1939 Leon Karp My Wife
1940 George Grosz Self-Portrait Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art,
Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas
1941 Franklin C. Watkins Misses Maude and Maxine Meyer de Schauensee
1942 No medal awarded
1943 Thomas Hart Benton Aaron[19] Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
1944 Louis Bouche Les Fleurs sauvages (Wildflowers) Barefoot man with bouquet
1945 Sigmund Menkes Tola
1946 Benton Murdoch Spruance Mabel's Daughter
1947 Sueo Serisawa Pierrot
1948 Alexander Brook Young Pianist[20]
1949 Philip Evergood Her World[21] Metropolitan Museum of Art
1950 Henry Mattson Self-Portrait
1951 Henry Varnum Poor The Artist in Summer (Self-Portrait)
1952 Gladys Rockmore Davis Study of an Old Woman (Rosa Jacobs)[22]
1953 Elsie Manville The Yellow Hat
1954 John King Kathryn
1955 Student exhibition
1956 No medal awarded
1957 Student exhibition
1958 Robert Brackman Peter Freuchen[23] The Explorers Club,
New York City
1959 Student exhibition
1960 No medal awarded
1961 Student exhibition
1962 Balcomb Greene Man in the City[24] ex coll. Vassar College
1963 Student exhibition
1964 Paul Georges Wife and Children
1965 Student exhibition
1966 Ben Benn Portrait of Velida (The Artist's Wife)[25] Auctioned at Shannon's, Milford, Connecticut,
October 23, 2003; sold for $1,500.[26]
1967 Student exhibition
1968 Richard Diebenkorn Large Woman[27] Last Beck Gold Medal awarded

See also

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References

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  1. ^ American Art Directory (Public domain ed.). R.R. Bowker. 1911. pp. 220–.
  2. ^ Mathilde Townsend, from National Gallery of Art.
  3. ^ Lady with Black Scarf
  4. ^ Rev. Timothy Dwight, from Yale University Art Gallery.
  5. ^ Francis I. Amory
  6. ^ Herself, from Art Institute of Chicago.
  7. ^ H. H., from SIRIS.
  8. ^ Dr. Felix Adler, from Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  9. ^ The Twins, from James A. Michener Art Museum.
  10. ^ Fritz Kreisler, from National Portrait Gallery.
  11. ^ Eleanor, Jean and Anna, from Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
  12. ^ Kelleher, Diane (28 October 2013). ENCHANTMENT The Art and Life of Lilian Westcott Hale: America's Linear Impressionist. Author House. pp. 80–. ISBN 978-1-4918-1616-5.
  13. ^ Miss Margaret Williams, from SIRIS.
  14. ^ Alice Howe Gibbens James, from SIRIS.
  15. ^ Joie, from SIRIS.
  16. ^ Girl in Black and White
  17. ^ Gittel
  18. ^ Portrait of a Man, from LiveAuctioneers.
  19. ^ Aaron, from PAFA.
  20. ^ Young Pianist
  21. ^ Her World, from Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  22. ^ "Rosa Jacobs". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  23. ^ Peter Freuchen, from The Explorers Club.
  24. ^ Man in the City, from Christie's NY.
  25. ^ Portrait of Velida, from Mutual Art.
  26. ^ Portrait of Velida, from Blouin Art Sales Index.
  27. ^ Large Woman, from Richard Diebenkorn Foundation.