I absolutely adore the paintings of Cecilia Beaux. I am looking at her compelling artwork in the museum section of the Art Renewal Center's site and trying to decide which one of the listed works I would choose if I could pick just one. I believe I would choose "Portrait of Cecil Kent Drinker" but worship "Little Girl" nearly as much. There are only 12 works shown. Of course, she had some great teachers (Thomas Eakins, Bouguereau, Fleury, Dagnan-Bouveret, and Courtois, among others) to help her develop her skills.
I also love the portraits with cats. One day I asked a friend's daughter what she thought the cats in the different paintings were thinking. She said without hesitation, "Very important cat things!"
Fellow forum members: Which Cecilia Beaux painting would you select if you could choose only one?
Here is a link to her works on ARC's museum:
http://www.artrenewal.com/asp/database/art.asp?aid=281
Thank you, Cynthia, for the link to the new book. I will definitely order it.