Peggy Bacon

Margaret Frances “Peggy” Bacon (1868-1953) was born in Ridgefield, Connecticut to visual artists.  She experienced a very unconventional childhood as her parents didn’t believe in formal schooling and moved frequently. Even though she expressed interested in art as a child, her first long-term, formal training began in 1915 at the Art Students League.  While attending the League she became friends with Dorothea Schwarcz, Anne Rector, Katherine Schmidt, Molly Luce, amongst others. In reflecting on her time at the Art Students League, Peggy commented that these years were a “very important chunk of her life and very exhilarating.”  Peggy eventually became a printmaker, illustrator, painter and writer. She is well known for her satirical caricatures of prominent personalities in the late 1920s and 1930s.

Bacon wrote 19 books, illustrated 60 books, held over 30 solo exhibitions and completed 35 satirical portraits of art world figures. She has received numerous awards including the gold medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and membership into the National Academy of Design.  Ms. Bacon also taught at various institutions including the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. and the School of Music and Art in Stowe, Vermont.  She died at the age of 91 in Kennebunk, Maine.