Double Portrait

photo by Cary Whittier

From January to early June of 1959, Beck held a teaching position at Middlebury College in Vermont, which forced her to have to leave her ten-year-old son, Roger, in the care of her parents back in Woodstock. Aside from an occasional long-distance call, which was expensive and often frustrating due to the bad connection, Beck had no contact with her son for almost five months. When he fell ill with measles soon after her return home, Beck immersed herself fully in his care. He recovered quickly and was able to resume his piano practice, always a delight to his mother, who was an accomplished musician herself, as well as an artist.