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Peggy Bacon

Peggy Bacon
Title
My Wife
Artist
Alexander Brook, 14 Jul 1898 - 2 Feb 1980
Sitter
Peggy Bacon, 2 May 1895 - 4 Jan 1987
Date
c. 1932
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Sight: 85.1 × 64.8 cm (33 1/2 × 25 1/2")
Stretcher: 87 × 66.4 cm (34 1/4 × 26 1/8")
Frame: 102.9 × 82.9 × 4.8 cm (40 1/2 × 32 5/8 × 1 7/8")
Topic
Costume\Jewelry\Necklace
Interior
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Table
Home Furnishings\Drape
Costume\Headgear\Turban
Peggy Bacon: Visual Arts\Artist
Peggy Bacon: Female
Peggy Bacon: Visual Arts\Artist\Printmaker\Etcher
Peggy Bacon: Literature\Writer
Peggy Bacon: Visual Arts\Artist\Painter
Peggy Bacon: Visual Arts\Artist\Caricaturist
Peggy Bacon: Visual Arts\Artist\Illustrator
Peggy Bacon: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Teacher
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund) The Corcoran Gallery of Art, one of the country’s first private museums, was established in 1869 to promote art and American genius. In 2014 the Works from the Corcoran Collection were distributed to institutions in Washington, D.C.
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.2019.5
Exhibition Label
Born Ridgefield, Connecticut
Margaret Frances “Peggy” Bacon began her career as a painter but found early success with her satirical prints and drawings of friends and associates. She published illustrations in magazines such as the Dial and Vanity Fair, while her popular 1934 book, Off with Their Heads, portrayed notable personages of the time with wit and charm. Bacon was also an author, an art educator, and the illustrator of more than sixty books.
Originally titled Portrait of My Wife, this painting by Alexander Brook captures Bacon in a moment of introspection. Brook and Bacon met at the Art Students League and were married from 1920 to 1940. This painting was exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in the Thirteenth Exhibition of Contemporary American
Oil Paintings in 1932, where its high praise earned it a place in the collection. A decade later, Bacon taught at the School of the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
Nacida en Ridgefield, Connecticut
Margaret Frances “Peggy” Bacon se inició como pintora, pero pronto logró éxito con grabados y dibujos satíricos de amigos y asociados. Publicó ilustraciones en revistas como Dial y Vanity Fair, y retrató con humor y gracia a personajes de su época en su popular libro de 1934, Off with Their Heads. También fue escritora, maestra de arte e ilustradora de más de 60 libros.
Titulada originalmente Retrato de mi esposa, esta pintura de Alexander Brook presenta a Bacon en un momento de introspección. Brook y Bacon se conocieron en la Liga de Estudiantes de Arte y estuvieron casados desde 1920 hasta 1940. Esta obra se expuso en 1932 en la Galería de Arte Corcoran como parte de la Decimotercera Exposición de Pintura al Óleo Contemporánea Estadounidense, donde fue muy elogiada y se ganó un lugar en la colección. Una década más tarde, Bacon impartió clases en la Escuela de la Galería de Arte Corcoran.
Provenance
Alexander Brook [1898-1980]; Purchased by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1932; Gift to NPG, 2019.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view