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Mark Beard Figurative Photography

American, b. 1956

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.

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Artist: Mark Beard
Untitled 13 (Mark Beard Polaroid Transfer of Young Male Nude on Rives BFK)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
image size: 10 x 8 inches Young male sitting against dark background Polaroid Transfer on 22 x 15 inch Rives BFK paper, unframed signed SM Beard in pencil on bottom right corner. ed...
Category

1990s Contemporary Mark Beard Figurative Photography

Materials

Polaroid, Archival Paper

Untitled (Male Nude in Shadow)
By Mark Beard
Located in New York, NY
Polaroid transfer on Rives BFK paper Signed, dated, and inscribed (AP) in pencil, recto Also blindstamped, l.r. 22 x 15 inches, sheet 10 x 8 inches, image This artwork is offered b...
Category

1990s Other Art Style Mark Beard Figurative Photography

Materials

Photogravure

Kissing Priests (Polaroid Transfer of Embracing Clergymen on Rives BFK)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Kissing Priests image size: 8 x 10 inches Polaroid Transfer on 22 x 15 inch Rives BFK paper, unframed signed SM Beard in pencil on bottom right corn...
Category

1990s Contemporary Mark Beard Figurative Photography

Materials

Polaroid, Archival Paper

Untitled (Stooped Man with Bowl of Fruit)
By Mark Beard
Located in New York, NY
Polaroid transfer on Rives BFK paper Signed, dated, and numbered (5/6) in pencil, recto Also blindstamped, l.r. 22 x 15 inches, sheet 8 x 10 inches, image This artwork is offered b...
Category

1990s Other Art Style Mark Beard Figurative Photography

Materials

Photogravure

[Bruce Sargeant (1898-1938)] Man in Suspenders Amidst the Cattails
By Mark Beard
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas Signed in red, u.l. $6500.00 + $300.00 framing This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. “Bruce Sargeant is a mythic figure in the modern art mo...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mark Beard Figurative Photography

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Untitled No. 51
By Mark Beard
Located in New York, NY
Polaroid transfer on Rives BFK paper Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil, recto Also blindstamped, l.r. 22 x 15 inches, sheet 10 x 8 inches, image This artwork is offered by Clam...
Category

1990s Other Art Style Mark Beard Figurative Photography

Materials

Photogravure

Tennessee Williams (Polaroid Transfer of American Playwright his Reflection)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
image size: 8 x 10 inches Portrait of Tennessee Williams Unique Polaroid Transfer on 22 x 15 inch Rives BFK paper, unframed signed SM Beard in penci...
Category

1990s Contemporary Mark Beard Figurative Photography

Materials

Polaroid, Archival Paper

Untitled 25 (Figurative Drawing Polaroid Transfer of a Boy in Cowboy Costume)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Figurative, Polaroid transfer of a young boy in vintage cowboy costume against an orange background PT 25, Made in 1998 Edition 1 of 6 9 x 7 in...
Category

1990s Modern Mark Beard Figurative Photography

Materials

Polaroid, Archival Paper

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Previously Available Items
Despot Atelier
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Marc (with Cigarette)
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Untitled 14 (Polaroid Transfer of Standing Young Nude Male on Rives BFK)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
image size: 10 x 8 inches Standing male nude against a blue background Polaroid Transfer on 22 x 15 inch Rives BFK paper, unframed signed SM Beard in pencil on bottom right corner. ...
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1990s Contemporary Mark Beard Figurative Photography

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Mark Beard figurative photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Mark Beard figurative photography available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Mark Beard in archival paper, paper, polaroid and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1990s and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Mark Beard figurative photography, so small editions measuring 15 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of William Greiner, Chuck Samuels, and Frank Yamrus. Mark Beard figurative photography prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,400 and tops out at $6,800, while the average work can sell for $1,400.

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