Items Similar to Frieze with Two Athletes on Bikes (Oil Painting by Mark Beard's Bruce Sargeant)
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 11
Mark BeardFrieze with Two Athletes on Bikes (Oil Painting by Mark Beard's Bruce Sargeant)unknown
unknown
About the Item
Academic style figurative painting of four young athletes running and on bicycles
"Frieze with Two Men on Bikes", painted by Mark Beard as Bruce Sargeant (pseudonym in homage to the fashion photographer, Bruce Weber, and figurative painter, John Singer Sargeant)
Oil on canvas, signed upper right
35.5 x 60 inches, 40.5 x 65.5 inches in a black frame with wire backing
Excellent condition, ready to hang as is
This magnificent horizontal composition was painted by Mark Beard under his fictitious artistic persona, Bruce Sargeant. Painted in a modern Academic style, this dynamic portrayal of young, male athletes in motion is an exciting example of the artist's talent for painting human anatomy. Two men are mounted on bikes; one wears khaki shorts and a billowing, white oxford shirt; the other is topless in a pair of white shorts. Two men are poised mid-stride in front of the bikes. The figures' toned muscles are accentuated with deep shadows that contrast against their cool, statuesque skin tone. The cheeks, forearms, legs, and hands are blushed pink, further sensualizing their figures.
Painted in a style that evokes the portraits of John Singer Sargent, Mark Beard is a living artist who paints under the pseudonym "Bruce Sargeant".
Over a decade ago, Mark Beard was tasked with commissioning one of the world’s largest murals, not once, but six times over in six locations for the Ohio based retailer, Abercrombie and Fitch. Beard was chosen for his idealization of ‘perfect manhood’ as depicted in the arenas of both athleticism and demeanor. Beard’s signature “bravura” style of brushwork references his main hero, John Singer Sargent, while the artist also cites Thomas Eatkins and Diego Velazquez as influences. This critical juxtaposition of his paintings with pop culture fashion in the cities of New York, Los Angeles, Milan, London, Tokyo and Paris gained Beard new recognition in a career that largely began in set design for European theater and opera. “The Abercrombie & Fitch commissions are an especially ingenious use of his talent, as Mark paints in a style of the 1920s and ‘30s we were once quite familiar with – look at the lobbies in Rockefeller Center – where humble humanity is shown in a heroic scale,” said Ashton Hawkins to the Baltimore Sun, a lawyer and board member of the MET in NYC. “Yet, Mark makes it palatable to the modern sensibility, because there’s a sly element of camp to it.” Mark Beard was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and studied art at the University of Utah and drawing at the Grand Chaumiere in Paris, France. He currently divides his time between Paris and New York City, where he has lived since 1980 and keeps a loft and studio in Hell’s Kitchen.
About the artist:
Mark Beard is perhaps the most literal example of an artist pulled in so many different directions that he chose to “invent” six different personae in which to channel his overflowing energy and need for expression. Each painting style is radically different from the next, so it remains entirely believable that the work could stem from six completely different people of different time periods and different schools of thought. With a background in set design, Beard has always been one who could conjure total magic with anything available. For this exhibit, he returns as the beloved 20th century painter from England, Bruce Sargeant, featuring a parade of Arcadian scenes suggesting afternoons of young men sporting in the countryside, rowing, bicycling, hunting or wrestling. Clean shaven, well manicured youths pose casually, indulging every opportunity to display a titillating flex of stone-like musculature. Like modern Greek statues, Beard paints these prestigious figures oftentimes in pairs of twos and threes in a lazy state of beautiful passivity. Mark Beard keeps himself fresh with challenge, undertaking ambitious commissions and committing to weekly sketch sessions with live models in his Manhattan studio. The result of this dedicated practice is a stunning array of graphite and conte crayon drawings on Arches paper.
Beard's works are in museum collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; the Museum of Modern Art, New York City; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City; the Boston Museum of Fine Arts; and the Harvard, Yale, and Princeton University Art Museums; among many others. We would not be the least bit surprised to see new ‘personas’ emerge in the coming years.
- Creator:Mark Beard (1956, American)
- Creation Year:unknown
- Dimensions:Height: 40.5 in (102.87 cm)Width: 65.5 in (166.37 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Hudson, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2279767702
Mark Beard
Contemporary New York City-based artist Mark Beard has long demonstrated command in a variety of mediums — he works in oil paint, bronze, ceramics and more. Beard is known mainly for his portraits and figurative paintings, but he is prolific in figurative drawing and nude photography as well.
Beard was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1986, he began working as a set designer, and for the next decade, he created more than 20 sets in New York City, London, Frankfurt, Vienna and Cologne. As a painter and printmaker, Beard didn’t wish to confine himself to a rigid style and instead sought to explore Impressionism, Art Nouveau and other movements in a range of mediums. In order to freely move from one style to the next, Beard created several different personas, assigning a specific biography to each one.
Beard's most prominent artistic alter ego is Bruce Sargeant, whom the artist has positioned in exhibitions as an early 20th-century painter. Beard's work as Sargeant is a detailed study of the male physique. The paintings often feature sculpted athletic men engaged in physical activities like wrestling and rowing. The work is steeped in homoeroticism, and the artist’s name itself is a reference to painter John Singer Sargent — while he’s best known for his Edwardian-era portraits, John Singer Sargent also created murals and drawings of male nudes that were similarly reflective of a homoerotic sensibility.
Beard is also an accomplished landscape painter. His great-grandfather, George Beard, was a regional painter and photographer of the Rocky Mountains. Mark spent summers at his grandfather's 19th-century log cabin retreat as a child. These formative experiences are reflected in his own stunning landscape paintings.
Beard's artwork is held in many high-profile museum collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Today, Beard resides in the Manhattan loft that he purchased in 1994 with his partner, James Manfred. It serves as both his home and his studio. The space is filled with his oil paintings, drawings and sculptures.
On 1stDibs, find Mark Beard paintings, drawings, photography and more.
About the Seller
5.0
Platinum Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are 1stDibs' most experienced sellers and are rated highest by our customers.
Established in 1991
1stDibs seller since 2013
544 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 2 hours
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Hudson, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Gio Taking Off His Singlet (Portait of a Young Wrestler by Mark Beard)By Mark BeardLocated in Hudson, NYAcademic style figurative portrait painting of a handsome young man against a grey background "Gio Taking Off His Singlet", By Mark Beard as Bruce Sargeant (pseudonym in homage to the fashion photographer, Bruce Weber, and figurative painter, John Singer Sargent) 14 x 11 inches 18.5 x 15.5 inches framed Excellent condition Signed by the artist, upper left "B. Sargeant" This vertical, portrait painting of a young man was made by Mark Beard under his fictitious artistic persona, Bruce Sargeant. Painted in a modern Academic style, the handsome man is posed stoically against a pale grey background as he gingerly removes his wrestling singlet...Category
2010s Academic Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Five Gymnasts in Training (Large Academic Style Figurative Painting of Athletes)By Mark BeardLocated in Hudson, NYLarge Academic style figurative painting of five male athletes Painted by Mark Beard aka "Bruce Sargeant" for New York City's flagship Abercrombie and Fitch store on 5th Avenue oil...Category
Early 2000s Academic Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Ready to Play (Academic Figurative Painting of Male Athlete by Mark Beard)By Mark BeardLocated in Hudson, NYAcademic style figurative oil painting of a handsome football player against a country landscape 'Ready to Play', Painted by Mark Beard as Bruce Sargeant (pseudonym in homage to the...Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- Football Players (Framed Academic Style Figurative Painting of Male Athletes)By Mark BeardLocated in Hudson, NYAcademic style figurative oil painting of two muscular football players Painted by Mark Beard as Bruce Sargeant Oil on canvas, signed upper right 20 x 16 inches unframed, 26 x 22 in...Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- Untitled Portrait I (Academic Style Portrait Painting of a Young Muscular Man)By Mark BeardLocated in Hudson, NYModern, academic style portrait painting on canvas of a young athletic male oil on canvas, 28 x 22 inches unframed This vertical, contemporary portrait painting of a single young m...Category
2010s Academic Portrait Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- Gondolier (Figurative Painting of Man in Venice by Mark Beard, Bruce Sargeant)By Mark BeardLocated in Hudson, NYAcademic style figurative oil painting of a muscular male gondolier with Venice's St. Mark's Campanile in the background "Gondolier" painted by Mark Beard as Bruce Sargeant (pseudony...Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
You May Also Like
- L'odalisque à l'éventail (The Odalisque with the Fan)By Léon François ComerreLocated in New Orleans, LALéon François Comerre 1850-1916 French L'odalisque à l'éventail (The Odalisque with the Fan) Signed "Léon Comerre" (upper left) Oil on canvas Combinin...Category
Late 19th Century Academic Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- A Pompeian LadyBy John William GodwardLocated in New Orleans, LAJohn William Godward 1861-1922 British A Pompeian Lady Signed and dated "J.W. Godward 1904" (lower right, partially covered by frame) Oil on canvas One of the last and greatest Victorian neoclassical painters, John William Godward is celebrated for his flawlessly executed images of graceful women posed in idealized ancient settings. In this work, entitled A Pompeian Lady, a classical beauty is caught idling in a moment of quiet, solitary reflection. Godward's elegant subjects are depicted with a degree of technical mastery that remains unsurpassed, and the work's dramatic palette, luxurious fabrics and classical vision are all characteristics of his unique take on the neoclassical style. Godward was unmatched in terms of his technical skill and attention to detail. A master of contrasting textures, he paints a diaphanous gown draping against the model’s smooth, milky white skin, which sits against the painstakingly rendered individual hairs of a tiger’s pel. Scintillating color permeates the canvas as well, energizing the otherwise static scene. Each element is given careful attention, and the overall effect is one of both immaculate technique and sensual tactility. Along with his contemporary and mentor, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Godward set the tone for the Victorian neoclassicist movement. He built his career upon creating images of idealized feminine beauty infused with a Greco-Roman-inspired style. Though greatly influenced by Alma-Tadema, Godward distinguished himself through his predilection for the solitary female figure. His fame rose dramatically in the first few years of the 20th century, when the present work was completed, due to the burgeoning strength of the British Empire and the Victorian society’s preoccupation with ancient Rome. To many of the newly affluent, Roman society was, as Iain Gale writes, “a flawless mirror of their own immaculate world.” The sensuality and mystery of Godward’s maidens, combined with his impressive antique backdrops...Category
Early 20th Century Academic Portrait Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- Father and children in front of TV - Mid-CenturyBy John Philip FalterLocated in Miami, FLJohn Falter arranges figures and faces in a way that rival the old masters in their compositional perfection. And he makes it look easy. The expressions are captured so the emotion...Category
1950s Academic Figurative Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- Asian girl portrait Teddy bear innocence toys pink soft colors fine art classicLocated in Zofingen, AGGirl with Teddy bear / Tender innocence This is one of my favorite artworks painted from nature. Painting are on stretched canvas come ready to hang. This is the “hidden frame”...Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Portrait of my Young DaughterLocated in Paris, FRBeautiful oil on canvas from the end of the 19th century figuring the portrait of a young woman. The painting is signed Y Pol on the bottom left . The artist in his performance perfe...Category
19th Century Academic Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Portrait of an Elegant Young Woman in Warm Grays and Soft OchersBy Leon KrollLocated in Miami, FLLeon Kroll was above all an academician. To him "abstract art was merely the beginning of a picture. Structurally, "Portrait of a Young Woman recalls some of the portraits from the ...Category
1930s Academic Portrait Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
20th Century Marks
Marks On Base
Frieze Pair
Frieze Art
1920s Paris France Paintings
French Arched Painting
Biking Art
Bike Art
Oxford Oil Painting
1920s French Oil Painting
Set Of Four Oil Paintings
Modern Kitchen Painting
American Lake Scene Oil
Greek Art Sun
Stone Frieze
Black Athletes Art
Mid Century Painting French City Scene
Thomas Hand Oil Painting