Every so often I need to get a good look at this portrait of Cecilia Beaux “Henry Sturgis Drinker” or “Man with the cat”.
There is so much to see! The great composition, the chiaroscuro, the fantastic cool-warm contrast, that great abstract vertical planes behind the sitter´s head, the bold, swirling brushwork. The rhythm of the three dark folds in the right arm, that black in the chair… I can not get enough of it. Go to this website and see the portrait into detail.
On this site is written:
Cecilia Beaux’s portrait of Henry Sturgis Drinker is an interesting pairing of artist and sitter. Drinker was Beaux’s brother-in-law, a railroad executive who later became president of Lehigh University. In the 1890s, men such as Drinker were at the pinnacle of East Coast society, and their tastes shaped public life for decades.
Beaux was a fiercely independent woman who lived well, kept handsome lovers, and had a will of iron. At a time when few women could, she carved out a career for herself as a portraitist, and was thought to rival John Singer Sargent. Drinker’s mutton-chop whiskers, linen suit, and casual pose convey immense self-assurance, but his steady, almost wary gaze suggests that he recognized in the artist a personality as strong as his own.
Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006