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Mark Beard
Archers: Figurative Painting of Two Sporting Men by Mark Beard, Bruce Sargeant

date unknown

About the Item

Academic style figurative painting of two men hunting in a mountain landscape with bow and arrows "Archers", painted in the late 90's - early 2000's for Abercrombie and Fitch's flagship store in Milan, Italy By Mark Beard as Bruce Sargeant (pseudonym in homage to the fashion photographer, Bruce Weber, and figurative painter, John Singer Sargeant) 96 x 48 inches, stretched canvas mounted on panel 101 x 53 inches with a black painted wood frame Excellent condition, ready to hang as is (hangs on two d-rings) Signed upper right, "Bruce Sargeant" This vertical, figurative painting of two sporting young men with bow and arrows in a mountainous landscape was painted by Mark Beard under his fictitious artistic persona, Bruce Sargeant. Painted in a modern Academic style, the handsome men pose, arrows drawn, with white shirts and dark green trousers. Their toned muscles are highlighted with a contrast of light and shadow, while his statuesque grey skin tone is flushed with a soft pink that matches the color of his full lips. The figurative painting on canvas is framed in a black frame measuring 101 x 53 inches and is signed in the upper right corner. The painting was originally part of an expansive mural that spanned several stories at Abercrombie and Fitch's flagship store in Milan. After the murals were returned to the artist around 2019, he stretched the canvases individually to make them available for sale. There is a seam that goes along the edge of the canvas from the middle to lower right corner that shows where the artist separated the composition from the larger mural. It does not compromise the integrity of the painting as the canvas is secured to a back panel and protected with multiple layers of Liquin. 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. Beard paints under the fictitious persona of Bruce Sargeant, his half American-half English uncle who painted a parade of Arcadian scenes suggesting afternoons of young men sporting in the countryside, rowing, bicycling, hunting or wrestling during the 1930's and 40's. 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. Mark Beard, born in 1956 in Salt Lake city, now lives in New York City. His 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. bu
  • Creator:
    Mark Beard (1956, American)
  • Creation Year:
    date unknown
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 101 in (256.54 cm)Width: 53 in (134.62 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    There is a seam that goes along the edge of the canvas from the middle to lower right corner that shows were the artist sectioned the composition from the larger mural. It does not compromise the integrity of the painting.
  • Gallery Location:
    Hudson, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU2277921762
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