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.
![[Edith Thayer Cromwell (1893-1962)] Elephant](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/mark-beard-paintings-edith-thayer-cromwell-1893-1962-elephant-for-sale/a_9323/1653335096459/Beard_Cromwell_Elephant_master.jpg?width=240)
![[Edith Thayer Cromwell (1893-1962)] Elephant](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/mark-beard-paintings-edith-thayer-cromwell-1893-1962-elephant-for-sale-picture-2/a_9323/a_102497021653335146928/Beard_Cromwell_Elephant_Framed_master.jpg?width=240)
[Edith Thayer Cromwell (1893-1962)] Elephant
By Mark Beard
Located in New York, NY
[Edith Thayer Cromwell (1893-1962)] Elephant n.d. Signed, u.r. Oil on canvas 23 x 29 inches This work is offered by ClampArt in New York City.
Oil
![Mark Beard, [Edith Thayer Cromwell (1893-1962)] On the Move](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/mark-beard-paintings-mark-beard-edith-thayer-cromwell-1893-1962-on-the-move-for-sale/a_9323/1737236299566/Beard_On_the_Move_980_copy_master.jpg?width=240)
Mark Beard, [Edith Thayer Cromwell (1893-1962)] On the Move
By Mark Beard
Located in New York, NY
A painting by Mark Beard under his pen name "Edith Thayer Cromwell) entitled "On the Move" Edith Thayer Cromwell (1893-1962)] On the Move n.d. Signed, u.l. Oil on canvas 40 x 33....
Canvas, Oil
Pink Ascension Beyond The Moon & Stars
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Hunt Slonem, American, included in 250+ museum collections Unique oil on canvas painting, artist's antique frame, signed and dated verso Inspired by nature and his 60 pet birds, Hu...
Gold Leaf
Hunt Slonem "Blue Owl" Original owl painting in oil
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Slonem, Hunt Title: Blue Owl Date: 2026 Medium: Oil on wood Unframed Dimensions: 10" x 8" Framed Dimensions: 14.5" x 12.5" Signature: Signed Edition: Unique Hunt Slo...
Oil
$26,500
H 37.5 in W 39.5 in
Hunt Slonem "Owls Washington " Original owl painting in oil
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Slonem, Hunt Title: Owls Washington Series: Owls Date: 2026 Medium: Oil on canvas Unframed Dimensions: 30.5" x 32" Framed Dimensions: 37.5" x 39.5" Signature: Signe...
Oil
Hunt Slonem "Marko" Original bunny painting in oil
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Slonem, Hunt Title: Marko Date: 2022 Medium: Oil on wood Unframed Dimensions: 10" x 8" Framed Dimensions: 14" x 12" Signature: Signed Edition: Unique Hunt Slonem is ...
Oil
$250
H 10 in W 10 in
Untitled Oil Painting on Canvas, Contemporary, 21st Century, 10x10
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This piece titled "Untitled" is an original artwork by Jiaranai Apaipak. It's an oil painting on canvas. The piece measures 10”h x 10”w. Born in Thailand, Jiaranai grew up in India,...
Canvas, Oil
$1,500
H 20 in W 21.75 in D 2 in
Small Scale Abstracted Figurative -- Big Fish, Little Fish Coral Reef
By John Francis Stenvall
Located in Soquel, CA
Vibrant figurative of abstracted fish in coral reef by John Stenvall (American, 1907- 1998), circa 1990. Signed left edge. Presented in gilt-toned frame ...
Paper, Oil, Acrylic
Bird. Weary Egret, Oil Painting
By Guigen Zha
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A weary egret perches on a wooden fence, gazing over a tranquil lake and mountains beyond. Its ruffled feathers and distant eyes hint at a long journey, while t...
Oil
"Patriarch", Figurative Oil on Panel Roaring Lion Painting
By Kyle Fisher
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Patriarch" is an original oil painting by Kyle Fisher on panel in a handmade wood frame measuring 42in x 59in. Kyle Fisher's use of delicate, organic elements to create the strong ...
Oil, Wood Panel
$2,231
H 15.75 in W 23.63 in D 0.79 in
Geese. Animals. Birds. Green. White. Grey. Gray. Red. Nature. Rectangular. 60x40
By Marina Skepner
Located in Oslo, NO
On a 60x40 cm canvas, four geese emerge in quiet harmony against a deep green background. Their white and grey feathers catch shifting light, suggesting movement within stillness. Ea...
Canvas, Oil
$1,362
H 9.02 in W 12.01 in
Pet Painting, Oil on Board, Figurative Style, Antique, 9x11 Inches
By Holland Cunningham
Located in London, GB
Holland Cunningham 1967 - Current Pet, 2019 Oil on board 22.9 x 30.5 cm 9 x 12 in
Oil, Board
$72,000
H 22 in W 30 in
Corridor - Contemporary Hyper Realism Painting, Animal Allegory, 22x30
By Will Wilson
Located in New York, NY
The whimsical elements and casual contemporary references Will Wilson incorporates in his paintings serve to offset their disciplined execution. Each painted subject is steeped in na...
Oil, Panel
$22,000
H 12 in W 12 in
A REX Rabbit Painting, Hyper Realism, Fur Detail, 12x12 Inches
By Patricia Traub
Located in New York, NY
Patricia Traub (b. 1947, Allentown, PA) is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the York Academy of the Arts. She continued her studies in Paris at the Académi...
Oil, Wood Panel
![[Hippolyte-Alexandre Michallon (1849-1930)] The Jungle](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/mark-beard-paintings-hippolyte-alexandre-michallon-1849-1930-the-jungle-for-sale/a_9323/a_28846111527280178992/Michallon_The_Jungle_master.jpg?width=240)
[Hippolyte-Alexandre Michallon (1849-1930)] The Jungle
By Mark Beard
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas Signed in red, l.r. 48 x 48 inches, canvas size 52 x 52 inches in gold leaf frame This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. “By his own account, the most ambitious work of Michallon’s career was a thirty-foot canvas depicting Noah’s Ark, which he exhibited in the Salon of 1875, where it went unmentioned by the critics. Preparatory work for this elaborate composition took him frequently to the Jardin des Plantes, where he made painstaking drawings and oil sketches of the animals on view. These studies were enthusiastically remarked upon by visitors to his studio, some of whom counseled him to give up history painting altogether and pursue the less dignified but presumably more lucrative career of animal painter. Following this advice, and profiting from the tremendous vogue in 1880s Europe for all things African...
Canvas, Oil
La Chasse aux Cygnes
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
oil on canvas painting by "Hippolyte-Alexandre Michallon" from Bruce Sargeant & His Circle More work by this artist is available on our website. Please inquire within.
Canvas, Oil