Carol H. Beck

Carol H. Beck (born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - October 14, 1908, Philadelphia) was an American historical painter, critic and writer. She studied in schools of the Pennsylvania Academy, and later in Dresden and Paris. She received the Mary Smith Prize at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1899. She was a Fellow of the Academy and a member of the Plastic Club, Philadelphia. Beck painted portraits and her works were frequently exhibited. Her portraits were also seen in the University of Pennsylvania, in the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, in Wesleyan College, at the capitols of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and other public places, as well as in many private homes. Beck edited the Catalogue of the William P. Wilstach Collection of Paintings in Memorial Hall, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.^[1] For some years and until her death, she was one of the managers of the Fellowships of the Pennsylvania Academy. On an order from Andrew Carnegie, she painted William Penn in armor for the Pennsylvania Society in New York, and several portraits for Skibo Castle.^[2]

Beck Medal

The Carol H. Beck Gold Medal for the best portrait painted within three years, was founded by the James M. Beck in 1908, in memory of his sister. The annual award is presented to an American artist, and is not given to the same person more than once.^[3] Recipients have included:^[4]

• John Singer Sargent
• Edmund Tarbell
• Joseph de Camp
• J. Alden Weir
• Robert Henri
• William Paxton
• John Sloan

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: C. E. C. Waters' "Women in the Fine Arts: From the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D." (1904)
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: American Art News' "Miss Carol H. Beck" (1908)