Skip to main content
Advanced Search
A view of sailboats in a harbor at night with moonlight falling on the water at the center of t…
The Path of Light
A view of sailboats in a harbor at night with moonlight falling on the water at the center of t…
A view of sailboats in a harbor at night with moonlight falling on the water at the center of the composition. A woman stands before a cottage at the lower right.
The Path of Light, Gifford Beal, 1922, oil on canvas, Telfair Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia.

The Path of Light

Artist (American, 1879 - 1956)
Date1922
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsCanvas: 20 1/4 × 30 1/4 inches (51.4 × 76.8 cm)
Framed: 27 1/8 × 37 1/8 × 2 9/16 inches (68.9 × 94.3 × 6.5 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase.
Object number1925.1
On View
On view
CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextGifford Beal drew his inspiration from his deep love for his native New York City and his summers spent in the coastal harbor town of Rockport, Massachusetts. When he was just twelve years old, Beal studied art with renowned American Impressionist William Merritt Chase. He graduated from Princeton University in 1900, and then returned to New York City where he studied under Robert Henri and adopted the aesthetic of the Ashcan school. Henri described Beal’s work as being “born of wit, and good humored love of people and things—seems to have come forth spontaneously—a love song.” Beal became president of the Art Students League in 1914 and served in that capacity until 1929, guiding future generations to explore progressive and experimental trends in American painting. Throughout his long career, Beal received countless awards and commissions, gaining well-deserved recognition for his contributions to American art.
Subject MatterRockport, Massachusetts, United States of America
Collections
A woman stands on a hill overlooking a bay with two boats under sail.
By the Water's Edge
Gifford Beal
1922
A painting of a view of a town with houses at the right and left executed with quick strokes of…
New York
Gifford Beal
1916
Two conversing women are seated by a path leading through the grassy dunes to a seaside town.
On the Dunes
Charles Webster Hawthorne
c. 1900 - 1910
A view of Central Park from a high vantage point with buildings on the left and a road running …
Across Central Park
Gifford Beal
c. 1929 - 1931
Sinewy trees with yellow leaves on the grassy shore of a lake in Central Park, New York.
Central Park Lake
Gifford Beal
1916
Vertically composed portrait of a woman dressed entirely in black, seated in a red and gilt arm…
Catharine Littlefield Greene Miller
James Frothingham
c. 1809
A painting of a rocky seashore with cliffs on the right.
Untitled
Henry Ossawa Tanner
1880
A view of a harbor with a sailboat in in the foreground.
The Harbor
Émile Louis Vernier
1880
A view of a harbor with several docked ice boats and a sailboat in the background.
Ice Boats on the Hudson
Henry Golden Dearth
c. 1888 - 1898
A night view of a harbor from a high vantage point with a street lamp on the dock and factory s…
River Nocturne (On the River)
Mark Sheridan
1941
Image Not Available for Valley Bridge
Valley Bridge
George Lafayette Clough
c. 1870
A large diptych painting in which the sequence of life is depicted through the aging of a woman…
La Parabola
Cesare Laurenti
c. 1895
Telfair Museum
Copyright © Telfair Museum