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Cecil Clark Davis
(self portrait)
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American
women artists have long been neglected by the art world in general.
Today, critics and the general public are taking a serious look
at the female artists of the early twentieth century and recognizing the
considerable talents these “modern American women.”
Cecil Clark Davis (1877-1955) was one of them.
She grew up in the heartland during America’s coming of age.
Her father, John Marshall Clark, was a successful Chicago
industrialist, investor (partner of Alexander Graham Bell) and Collector
for the Port of Chicago during the World’s Fair of 1893.
Her mother was a concert pianist who played at Carnegie Hall as
well as at the Sippican Hotel in Marion, Massachusetts, where the family
had a summer home.
One of
the earliest influences on Cecil’s life
was
The Columbian Exposition of 1893, a celebration of the quadracentennial
of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus.
It was to be an exposition of the best of the USA.
Experts in their fields assembled to create the “White City”;
Stanford White, architect; Augustus Saint Gaudens, sculptor; John Singer
Sargeant, painter; Henry James, writer; and many more.
Some say it was the greatest gathering of minds since the
Renaissance! Cecil knew
these visionaries and many more who spent summers in the little town of
Marion, Massachusetts.
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As a
young teenager, Cecil wandered freely throughout the various exhibits.
When Mrs. Potter Palmer opened the Women’s Pavilion, she did so
in the company of a good many of the world’s greatest suffragists.
Cecil heard speeches about women’s rights, the condition of
children, the homeless and other progressive ideas.
She shared their opinions and began her life as a “modern”
woman.
She
had an innate talent for art and was encouraged to pursue painting by
her doting father. Once she wanted a pony and a cart but was told she
was too young. She took her
sketchbook and charcoal to the local jail and convinced the guards to
let her draw the prisoners. She
sold the drawings to the Chicago Tribune and made enough money to buy
the pony and the cart!
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She
studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and with several artists
including John Singer Sargeant, but always insisted that she was self-taught.
She painted over 500 portraits ranging from society ladies and
gentlemen to humble servants and gardeners.
She won many prizes in salons world wide.
Cecil
was a tomboy. She excelled
at many sports especially tennis, golf, soccer and horse back riding.
She was bold, adventurous, high-spirited and had a will or iron.
She shocked people by appearing in public without a hat or gloves.
At posh New York dinner parties, when the meal was over and the
ladies withdrew to the parlor, Cecil stayed in the dining room and
smoked with the men!
She
was tall, slender and lovely, resembling the famous “Gibson Girl”
made popular by one of her best friends, Charles Dana Gibson.
No longer did American women look to Europe for standards in
style or beauty. A blush of tan on her cheek was the healthy glow of a
day out sailing or playing golf.
She captured the heart of Richard Harding Davis, the world renowned
war correspondent and author, described as the most handsome, stalwart,
sought-after man in America! In 1899 she finally agreed to marry him, but insisted that it
was to be a platonic marriage, and that they would live as brother and
sister. Richard agreed to this odd pact, and the wedding was held in St.
Gabriel’s Chapel in Marion on May 4, 1899. Ethyl Barrymore was her
maid of honor. C.D. Gibson
was a groomsman. It
was an international event. They traveled together all over the world,
returning home to “The House in the Lane” in Marion.
Ten years later they were divorced.
Undaunted, Cecil continued to paint, travel and play as a single,
independent, worldly woman.
Her
circle of friends included artists, writers, musicians, actors,
political leaders and dignitaries around the world.
She knew kings and queens, barons and emperors.
( Above
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