CROTON'S GEORGE BIDDLE AND HELENE SARDEAU

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From THE CROTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY FB PAGE---George Biddle and his wife, sculptor Hélène Sardeau, lived in Croton on Mt. Airy Road, in a house he helped build. Philadelphia’s Woodmere Art Museum has a retrospective of his work, on view until January 22, 2023.

Below is a short biography, taken from Cornelia Cotton’s booklet They Lived in Croton, An Archive of Croton Visual Artists. You can purchase a copy at Cornelia Cotton Gallery or from the Croton Historical Society.

GEORGE BIDDLE 1885-1973

After earning a law degree from Harvard, George Biddle found the world of art far more challenging. He studied at the Académie Julian in Paris and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. His gift for friendship brought him into contact with a large number of artists who influenced and inspired him, among them Mary Cassatt, a fellow Philadelphian; Pascin, Zorach, Davies, Benton, Nadelman, Demuth, and Kuniyoshi. In 1928 he went on a sketching trip through Mexico with Diego Rivera where he saw the work of Mexican muralists. Meanwhile, the Depression had focused attention on the devastating social problems in this country.

Biddle had known Franklin Roosevelt at Harvard, and in 1933 he approached FDR with a proposal to secure financial support for American artists through a government-funded mural project, similar to the Mexican experiment. This proposal was eventually realized on a vast scale in enabling thousands of artists to work and earn, invigorating the entire spectrum of American arts.

Biddle was extremely versatile. In addition to painting and printmaking, he worked in sculpture, marquetry, and tapestry. He was a war correspondent for Life in W.W. II, a teacher, and the author of seven books. His work has been exhibited throughout the world and is included in many museum collections here and abroad. He and his wife, sculptor Hélène Sardeau, lived on Mt. Airy Road, in a house he helped build, and where his son’s family still lives. SEE MORE AT

George Biddle: The Art of American Social Conscience - Woodmere Art Museum