George Beck (artist)

George Beck (1749 – December 24, 1812) was an artist and poet who flourished in America during the early republic era.[1][2]

Born1749
England
Died(1812-12-24)December 24, 1812
NationalityAmerican
SpouseBethany Marcus

Biography

Beck was born in England in 1749. He was employed as an instructor in mathematics at Woolwich from 1776, but was afterward dismissed. He emigrated to the United States in 1795, and was employed in painting pictures. One of his paintings, The Great Falls of the Potomac (1796) was purchased by President George Washington. Washington hung the painting in his parlor at Mount Vernon, where it remains today.

Beck also wrote short poems, made poetic translations from Anacreon, Homer, Virgil, and Horace, and in 1812 published Observations on the Comet.

In 1795, he served as a scout in General Anthony Wayne's campaign against the Native Americans.

With his wife, Bethany Marcus who was also an artist, Beck conducted a female seminary in Lexington, Kentucky for many years. He died in Lexington on December 24, 1812.

Review

The obituary of Beck published in The Kentucky Gazette eulogized his nature paintings as one of the best among the works of the contemporary artists. The talented artist, however, was hardly given any credit for his outstanding works and was driven in his later days to a life of drudgery at the school he was running, frustration and bitterness.[3]

Although Beck failed to command the respect and recognition, so deserving of him in his life career, his paintings of wild nature and western landscapes, "The Potomac River Breaking through the Blue Ridge and "The Great Falls of the Potomac" purchased by George Washington in 1797 put his work on high esteem. His depiction of the western landscape around the Potomac River in those paintings showcased life in its fullest bloom and divinity. The sheer power and force of those paintings so much influenced Washington that a good number of Beck's classic large paintings adorned the walls of the New Room on the eastern side of Mount Vernon.[3]

Notes
  1. Whitley, Edna Talbott. "George Beck: An Eighteenth Century Painter". tfaoi.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  2. "George Beck - McCalls Ferry on the Susquehannah". aradergalleries.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  3. Schaeffer, Julian Sacca. "George Beck (1749-1812)". Retrieved 16 February 2016.
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