MassArt Illustration

John Singer Sargent: Bostonian

Written by Professor Irena Roman

We typically think of John Singer Sargent as a citizen of the world, and the current show at the Museum of Fine Arts of his brilliant watercolors, many depicting exotic locales, attest to that. He was born in Florence, Italy, in 1856 to an expatriate Philadelphia surgeon father (who was also a skilled medical illustrator), and a Boston heiress mother who had a knack for watercolors and a passion for Europe. Growing up, he lived all over Europe; France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. Sargent spoke four languages and studied art in Florence, Dresden, Berlin and Paris. He considered himself an American but it wasn’t until he was 17 that he actually stepped foot in the United States! But when he did visit America, he considered Boston (and especially the Back Bay) his home. Many of the places he worked and frequented still stand and are just a stones-throw from MassArt. Let’s take a virtual walking tour.

Begin the virtual walking tour after the break.

280 The Fenway; The Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum

That’s right- Sargent had a studio right next door to the Tower Building! Isabella Stewart Gardner gave Sargent the use the Gothic Room in her home one month after Fenway Court opened (now the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum). She even gave him permission to use the antique furniture as props. (That’s saying a lot about her feelings for him, given her reputation as a control freak.) Gardner and Sargent’s forty-year-friendship began when their mutual friend, the writer Henry James, introduced them to each other in London in 1886. She commissioned Sargent to paint her portrait after seeing his infamous “Madam X” painting there. He ended up doing several paintings over the course of their friendship.

On display at The Gardner Museum through January 14, 2014 is The Inscrutable Eye: 
Watercolors by John Singer Sargent from Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Collection, eight watercolor paintings by Sargent that he made for his own pleasure. The show also includes materials from the museum’s archives, such as Sargent’s letters to Gardner, and receipts for watercolors she purchased.

Mrs. Gardner in White by John Singer Sargent, 1922, Watercolor

199 Commonwealth Avenue; The St. Botolph Club

Sargent’s first solo show was in 1888 at the St. Botolph Club. The exhibit included his renowned painting “The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit” and the controversial portrait of Mrs.Gardner sometimes referred to as “Woman-an Enigma.” The St. Botolph Club was founded in 1880, the golden age of art, literature, music and architectural prominence in Boston. The club’s constitution states they stand for, “the purpose of promoting social intercourse among persons connected with, or interested in the arts, humanities and sciences,” all under the kindly influence of the good Saint Botolph. It wasn’t for another hundred years that women were invited to be members (1988).

27 Colchester Street, Brookline, MA; The Edward Darley Boit Mansion

Even though John Singer Sargent didn’t live or work here, and his famous painting of the Boit girls was done in Paris, this address is worth a mention because it holds an aura of mystery. The house is now two condos, and one unit has two niches in its foyer for those tall blue vases pictured in Sargent’s famous painting, The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit. The home was sold in 1911 and Mr. Boit returned to Europe forever. But the vases stayed at this address until they were moved to the MFA in 1986. Nobody knows who owned the vases for the greater part of the century and there’s no information as to who specifically decided to donate them to the museum. The vases now flank the original painting at the MFA. Another tidbit: They weren’t empty when they arrived. “Their miscellaneous contents” became “a document of mischief and the passage of time.” Stuffed in with the packing materials were a cigar stub, a paper airplane, a pink ribbon, a tennis ball, sheets of geography lessons, a letter about the repeal of Prohibition, an Arrow shirt collar, an old doughnut, an admission card to a dance at the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, Mass., three badminton shuttlecocks, many coins and a feather*. Think of that the next time you see this painting in person!

247 Newbury Street
 

John Singer Sergeant shared studio space here with his friend and fellow painter Frederic Porter Vinton. Vinton, originally from Maine, was an American Impressionist who specialized in portraits and landscapes. Like Sargent, his work was highly influenced by his European travels, and he studied under many important artists of the time. The space they shared is currently for rent for $3600.00 a month: Live in Luxury on Newbury Street!! Former historic art studio of famous American painter, John Singer Sargent. (The ad doesn’t mention Mr. Vinton.)La Blanchisseuse by Frederic Porter Vinton, 1890 Oil

221 Columbus Avenue; The Pope Building
 

From 1917-1925 Sargent needed larger studio space in order to execute his Colonnade murals for the new MFA on Huntington Avenue. So he rented a studio of his own at The Pope Building, which is across the street from Back Bay Station. There (and at his London studio as well) he produced eight paintings, twelve reliefs, and lots of architectural ornament all made of plaster. Instead of painting fresco style directly onto wet plaster, Sargent created monumental oil paintings and the canvases were adhered to the walls. He planned to oversee the final installation, but unfortunately died suddenly on April 14, 1925, on the eve of his departure for Boston from England. His elaborate work was unveiled posthumously to great acclaim at the MFA in 1925. Sketches for the beautiful murals can be found in the collections of the MFA.

The Greater Boston area is rich in Sargent collections. Here’s a list of local institutions in addition to The Museum of Fine Arts that house his work:

Harvard Art Museums (The Fogg in particular.)
The Boston Athenaeum
Massachusetts Historical Society
Worcester Art Museum
Addison Gallery of American Art
The Peabody Essex Museum, Salem
Sargent House Museum, Gloucester
And see his outstanding murals, “The Triumph of Religion” at The Boston Public Library

Recommended reading about John Singer Sargent:

There are hundreds of books about Sargent’s work but few about the man himself. He never spoke about his personal life, gave interviews and detested public speaking. He concentrated on his work and kept a low-key public image. However, his life was not without controversy. Scholars question why his family burned his personal correspondence and journals after his death.

Here are some newer books that speculate about and attempt to delve into the personal side of the artist:

John Singer Sargent: The Sensualist, by Trevor Fairbrother, (Yale University Press) 2000
John Singer Sargent by Trevor Fairbrother (Library of American Art)
Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X, by Deborah Davis (Penguin) 2004

They all promise to be a good read.
Enjoy!

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