A woman with pale skin and dressed in white sits on a couch gazing into the distance to our left as she raises one arm to stroke a black cat perched on her shoulder in this vertical portrait. Shown from the lap up, the woman’s dress has voluminous, puffed, elbow-length sleeves and a high collar, and her narrow waist is cinched with a white sash. Her dark brown hair is parted down the middle and tied back, and she has pale blue eyes and pink lips. She reaches up to the cat with her left hand, on our right, and her other hand, farther from us, rests flat in her lap. The black cat looks at us with greenish-yellow eyes as it almost disappears into the dark brown background above the white couch, which is decorated with a blue pattern. The artist signed the work with dark letters in the lower left corner: “Cecilia Beaux.”

Cecilia Beaux, Sita and Sarita, c. 1921, oil on canvas, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund), 2014.79.1

Creative Writing: Unveiling Stories

Virtual Studio

Thursday, March 24, 2022
5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Virtual
Registration Required

Guided by local teaching artist Mary Hall Surface

Step into the dynamic life and times of turn-of-the-century American artist Cecilia Beaux. Experiment with using multiple perspectives and discover how it can enrich what you see and experience in a work of art — and how it can inspire your writing.

Use the writing tools or software you prefer for this workshop.

Questions? Send a message to [email protected].