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View of Baltimore from Howard Park by George Beck, c. 1796. Oil on canvas. 36 59/64 x 45 63/64 in. (93.8 x 116.8 cm.) Gift of Robert Gilmor,
Maryland Historical Society, Accession: 1846-3-1.
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Medium/Discipline: Architecture, Design, Painting
Birthplace: Staffordshire, England
Place of Death: Lexington, Kentucky?
Maryland Affiliation: Depicts Maryland subjects, Active while in residence
Prominent Theme: Landscapes, Topographical Views
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Biography: The son of a farmer and born in Staffordshire, England, George Beck was a landscape painter as well as a draughtsman for the Corps of Engineers in London. His landscape paintings were shown at the Royal Academy from 1790-4. He came to Baltimore in 1795, and remained there for three years. Then he moved to Philadelphia with his wife, who was also a landscape painter, and they opened a school together. They moved on to Lexington, Kentucky where he devoted his time to poetry and study, as opposed to painting. His wife, a fairly successful artist, had a studio where George taught painting. George Beck completed a number of landscape "Views" of Baltimore, including one from Howard Park.
Art-related Employment: painter; draughtsman
Other Employment: schoolteacher
Selected References: Pleasants, J. Hall. Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Painting in Maryland (Baltimore: Baltimore Museum of Art), 1945.
Maryland Institutions Holding Artworks: Maryland Historical Society
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