Emily Sargent (1857–1936) was an artist best known for her watercolors and the sister of John Singer Sargent.[1] She did not exhibit her own work during her lifetime. But 440 of her works were discovered in 1998 in a trunk in a family residence. Many of these works have been given to some of the world's best known museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (45 paintings), the Tate Gallery (29), the National Gallery of Art (25), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (22), the Brooklyn Museum (20), the Ashmolean Museum (19), as well as the Sargent House Museum (15) in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where several of her ancestors lived.[1]
The first major exhibition of her work Emily Sargent, A Glimpse into her World was held at the Cape Ann Museum in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 2022.[2]
Early life
editEmily Sargent was a descendant of Epes Sargent, a colonial military leader and jurist. Her father, FitzWilliam (b. 1820 in Gloucester, Massachusetts), was an eye surgeon at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia from 1844 to 1854. Her mother, Mary Newbold Sargent (née Singer, 1826–1906), suffered a breakdown after the death of her first child, and the couple decided to go abroad to recover.[3] They were nomadic expatriates for the rest of their lives.[4][5] Sargent's parents were based in Paris, but moved regularly, spending time at the sea and at mountain resorts in France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland.
While Mary was pregnant with her son, John Singer Sargent, they stopped in Florence, Tuscany, because of a cholera epidemic. John was born there in 1856. A year later, his sister Emily was born, also in Italy. After her birth, FitzWilliam resigned his post in Philadelphia and accepted his wife's request to remain abroad.[6] They lived on a small inheritance and savings, leading a quiet life with their children. They generally avoided society and other Americans, except for friends in the art world.[7] Three more children were born abroad, of whom only two lived past childhood.
At age four, Emily Sargent had a serious spinal injury, followed by a prolonged immobilization, resulting in lifelong frailty. Nevertheless, she traveled and painted throughout Europe and the Near East. Their mother made sure that all the children learned to draw and paint.[1]
Emily and John were close and both lived in Europe most of their lives, often traveling together. Neither married or had children, and Emily sometimes served as his hostess and helped him with his clients.[8]
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Donated to the Met in 1950 by the Sargent family and attributed to John Singer Sargent. Now attributed to Emily Sargent -
View of Constantinople (1904)
References
edit- ^ a b c Cascone, Sarah (5 February 2023). "Emily Sargent, Not Just a Sister to John, Was a Serious Painter in Her Own Right". ArtNet. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ^ "Emily Sargent, A Glimpse Into Her World". Cape Ann Museum. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ^ "John Singer Sargent". Biography.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
- ^ Olson (1986), p. 1.
- ^ Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1900). . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
- ^ Olson (1986), p. 2.
- ^ Olson (1986), p. 4.
- ^ Laidler, John (12 May 2022). "It's Emily Sargent's time for a showcase". Boston Globe. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
Work cited
edit- Olson, Stanley (1986). John Singer Sargent: His Portrait. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-44456-7.
External links
edit
- Sherwood, Harriet (15 February 2023). "First Tate Britain rehang in 10 years will put female artists at centre". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- McCouat, Philip. "Rose-Marie Ormond Sargent's Muse and 'the Most Charming Girl That Ever Lived'". Journal of Art in Society. Retrieved July 8, 2020.