The Washington herald., 1921-04-15
1i!T5IFTfTrIs'..l
JESSIE TARBox BEALs

JESSIE TARBOx BEALs
PREFERs AUTUMN FOR BEAUTY.
Most folks sing of spring, but 1
prefer autumn and winter" says
Jessie Tarbox Beals, poet and pho
tographer OF New York City, whose
lyrics are now absorbing the same
attention among lovers of verse
and music as the original photo per-
traiture which has already. won her
q prominent place among the artists
of the country.
Mrs. Beals 10 here as delegate
from the New York Auxiliary 10
the first national convention of the
League of American Pen Women.
Folks think II curious that while
other poets write of spring, the
green grass and the gay-colored
flowers, 1 prefer 10 rave over the
more sombre tints OF autumn" Mrs.
Beals said yesterday, in speaking of
some of her recent compositions
which are being <et to music by
Emilio Roxas. coach OF Emmy Des-
tim, as well as by Kathleen Clarke
and Marian Bauen.
But don't you know that IL is the
autumn and winter OF life which
actually bring the realization OF
the richness and fullness OF exist
enee?" 2
Youth is exuberant, needless. in
souciant-and It is the later years
which bring true accomplishment mt
and complete mental development
and so l sing of autumn and win
ter" she explained.
But II Is as a photographer that
Mrs Beals is best known. for she
clicked her way to fame long be-
fore she started jingling. Catching
the world unawares on sensitive
plates Is Mrs. Beals forte. Have
you ever glimpsed Madison Square
or Brooklyn Bridge on a foggy
night, or have you ever caught the
CLINT OF sunlight on the towers OF
Manhattan? II you have, the sight
left an impression upon your con-
seriousness. Well, catching such
impressions is Mrs. BeaIe's idea IN
photography - imprisoning forever
on the Photographic plate those in
definable feelings with which GER
tain sights and scenes NIL US. 1t Is
the soul of cities, OF buildings, OF
places. for which Mrs. Beals looks
with her camera.
PORTRAIT WORK
HER ESPECIAL DELIGHT.
And as for portraits--they are her
delight. She makes them more than
Just chronicle OF the features of
people; they are glimpses of the
soul.
My studio" she explained with
the ever-present twinkle in her eyes,
lis responsible for the work / do. |
nave tried to make II a big, home
like place. and when patrons come.
we sit and gossip and get acquaint-
ed. Then l timber 'em up with a
cup of tea. studying them all the
time to f1nd the best that is in them.
1t is always there; it is an Elusive
sort of thing-the expression / am
seektng-but a cup Of tea and the
friendliness, of which it is a humble
symbol. bring it out.
II once had a subject-a woman
with a dish face. Looked as IL Il
had been pushed in, you know. She
expected to buy two pictures. /
judge one was for her husband and
one was for her mother. / human
l2ed that woman. and, do you know.
she has so far spent $40 on those
pictures and is still coming.
No. l didn't idealize her. 1 didn't
do thing in retouching to make
her better looking. ! just made my
camera get a snap of real intelli-
gence and goodness in her, and in
looking at those one didn't see the
dishiness of her face"
Men and babies are Mrs. Beals' IA
vorites for portraits; men because
they are more pliable, and babies,
just because she loves them.
Mrs. Beals has snapped about
everything except the fourth dimen-
sion, and some day she says she may
go after that il she only gets time
enough. In heat and cold. rain and
sun. from telegraph poles. trees.
balloons and airplane she has stalk
ed prey both willing and unwilling.
How celebrities get their start is
always interesting and is an indis-
pensable part of any interview.
BEGAN AS TEACHER
ON 81 WEEKLY.
TT was at S7-a-week job as
school teacher in Canada" said Mrs
Beals, that l first began to earn my
own living. But my, how l detested
the school room when l knew the
outdoors was calling me.
Perhaps / would be there still
had l not invested $1.75 in a camera
one summer and learned to love to
use it. l soon found that it was a
wonderfully satisfying way of re-
cording Impressions. OF course, at
first they were not so subtly accu-
rate as l would have liked. but they
at least aroused the train of asso-
citation and reminiscence that 1 con-
nected with each scene.
II had the camera only five weeks
when l earned SO with my pictures
l walked out of that schoolroom
then and there. l would have
spurned even the county superin-
tendency"
= Mrs. Beal's first great success was
on the Buffalo Courier during
Qdelps candidacy for governor
One day, walking along the street,
she observed the progress or a most
loquacious drake. followed by seven
admiring' progeny. Struck by the
drollness of the noisy, self-satisfied
group, Mrs. Beals was reminded of