Cecilia Beaux

Following the early death of her mother, Cecilia Beaux was raised by her grandmother and aunt. From the latter she learned a sense of independence, something typically not encouraged in women of the time. Beaux began to study drawing at the age of 16 and later traveled to France to continue her art education. Upon her return to the United States, she became the first female faculty member of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, teaching there for over twenty years.