John Singer Sargent Portraits in Charcoal
John Singer Sargent Portraits in Charcoal by Richard Ormond is a comprehensive catalogue published by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art on June 3, 2025. This edition, comprising 407 pages, presents an authoritative exploration of Sargent’s charcoal portraits, which are less known compared to his oil works. The book documents nearly 700 drawings that reflect the essence of British and American high society during a time of significant transformation, featuring an elite clientele that includes notable figures such as the Astors, Rockefellers, and Winston Churchill.
Readers will find a detailed examination of Sargent’s artistic approach, highlighting his interest in various subjects, including athletes engaged in sports like cricket and polo. The book also sheds light on the evolution of Sargent’s style from prewar to postwar periods, emphasizing the sparser aesthetic of his charcoal portraits. Additionally, the volume includes surviving letters and reminiscences that provide context and insight into the artist’s relationships with his patrons, enriching the understanding of his work and the social landscape of the era.
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A comprehensive catalogue of Sargent’s charcoal portraits, capturing high society, professions, and the arts in an era of profound transformation
In comparison with his portraits in oil, John Singer Sargent’s charcoal portraits are relatively little known. In this authoritative new volume, Richard Ormond documents the nearly 700 drawings that make up this distinct strand of Sargent’s oeuvre. These portraits capture the essence of British and American high society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, portraying an elite clientele that includes aristocracy, royalty, politicians, artists, writers, actors, financiers, and philanthropists. Among Sargent’s subjects are such prominent figures as the Astors, Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Du Ponts, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Ethel Barrymore, W. B. Yeats, and Winston Churchill.
Though renowned for his paintings of women, these charcoal portraits also reveal Sargent’s interest in depicting athletes across a variety of sports, from cricket and fencing to football and polo. This shift in subject matter from prewar to postwar, along with a sparser style characteristic of his charcoal work, casts new light on Sargent’s depictions of the period’s social landscape.
Surviving letters between Sargent and his patrons, reminiscences recorded in contemporary diaries, and David McKibbin’s extensive correspondence with sitters, both document the portraits and provide a vivid and human picture of the artist at work.
Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
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