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Peggy Bacon, artist
American, 1895 - 1987
Spirit Of Rain, 1936
Etching & Drypo
12.4 x 10.1 cm (image)
Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts 1963.30.3383
Artist Biography: Born May 2, 1895 in Ridgefield, CT; daughter of miniaturist Elizabeth Chase and landscape painter Charles Roswell Bacon; showed precocious talent, began drawing at an early age; was illustrating and writing books by ten years-old; 1913 decided to study art; 1914-1915 at New York School of Fine and Applied Arts and also studied with Jonas Lie; 1915-1920 studied at Art Students League with Andrew Dasburg, Kenneth Hayes Miller, George Bellows and John Sloan; heavily influenced by Sloan; 1915 first one-person show arranged by Jonas Lie; wrote first book The True Philosopher and Other Cat Tales; 1916 studied painting with B.J.O. Nordfeldt during summer; 1917 taught herself drypoint; 1918 met future husband, painter Alexander Brook, in lunchroom of Arts Students League; first book, The True Philosopher and Other Cat Tales, including thirteen of her early drypoints, published; drypoints exhibited at Society of Independent Artists; 1920 married Alexander Brook; lived in London; daughter Belinda born; 1921 traveled to Paris, then lived in London; after return to United States lived near Woodstock, NY (she and husband would be active in Woodstock artist colony until mid 1920*s); 1922 first major drypoint exhibition at Joseph Brummer Gallery; son, Alexander Brook, Jr. born; monograph Peggy Bacon by William Murrell published; after 1923 lived in New York City, usually spending summers elsewhere; 1923-1929 wrote and illustrated children*s books; several one-person shows, including 1928 exhibit at Alfred Stieglitz*s The Intimate Gallery; 1924 print and plate for The Promenade Deck purchased by New Republic magazine and issued in Portfolio Six American Etchers, which also included Edward Hopper*s Night Shadows as well as prints by Ernest Haskell, John Marin, Kenneth Hayes Miller and John Sloan. 1927 one of original twelve members of American Printmakers group; began satirical color pastel portraits (she had abandoned painting in 1921 and worked in black and white drawing and drypoint prior to 1927); 1928 first lithographs; 1929 first etchings (went on to make numerous prints in the 1930*s); 1927-1937 spent summers in Cross River, Westchester County, NY, except for 1931 when Brook received Guggenheim travel fellowship resulting in their summer travel to Europe; wrote and illustrated numerous books; frequent one-person shows; produced almost 100 pastels, including 35 caricatures; 1934 received Guggenheim fellowship and used funds to produce Off With Their Heads!, a set of 39 satirical black and white portraits with accompanying text, published by Robert M. McBride; 1935 after executing numerous commissioned caricatures, she abandoned this work, commenting afterward, *I couldn*t stand getting under people*s skins...*; 1937 began humorous pastel genre scenes; 1938 separated from Alexander Brook; 1940 divorced from Alexander Brook; 1942 major retrospective held by Associated American Artists; received grant from National Academy of Arts and Letters to further creative work; 1950-1970 output of prints diminished but wrote and illustrated six books, illustrated over twenty books written by others, wrote mystery novel, The Inward Eye, which was well received; 1952 began to work with water based mixed-media; 1956 elected to National Institute of Arts and Letters (elected vice-president 1960 and 1962); 1958 resumed oil painting; 1961 moved from New York City to Cape Porpoise, Maine; 1963 received certificate of merit from National Academy of Design; became almost blind but continued to paint; 1975 retrospective exhibit at National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian, Washington, DC; died 1987.~~Sources:~~1. Peggy Bacon, Personalities and Places: Exhibition at the National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; December 5, 1975-February 8, 1976. Washington: National Collection of Fine Arts by the Smithsonian Institution Press, 1975.~~cms 10.31.97~
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