John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) Archive
Painter, Muralist, Sculptor
Creator
John Singer Sargent, Emily Sargent
Title
John Singer Sargent Archive
Extent
13 linear feet
Abstract
The John Singer Sargent Archive consists of manuscripts, correspondence, inventories of artworks, biographical information, photographs, scrapbooks, and other personal and business papers related to the life and career of American artist John Singer Sargent.
Inclusive Dates
1880–1955 (bulk 1880s–1926)
Languages
English, French
Access
In process and open for research
Administrative Information
Processed by Kristin Parker
Repository
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Summary
The John Singer Sargent Archive consists of manuscripts, correspondence, inventories of artworks, biographical information, photographs, scrapbooks, and other personal and business papers related to the life and career of American artist John Singer Sargent, as well as research materials gathered by Richard Ormond, great-nephew of the artist. Gifts to the collection came from Warren Adelson, Charles J. Paine, and others. The correspondence series offers insight into Sargent’s early to late career, through letters to commissioned patrons, sitters, business partners, and family and friends, describing works in progress; travels throughout Italy, Switzerland, England, and Boston, Massachusetts; and exhibition planning, including at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Many of the letters are written to author Violet Paget; to Walter Leighton Clark, with whom Sargent cofounded the Grand Central Galleries; and to his sister Emily Sargent. Correspondence also contains illustrated letters to Claude Monet. Over 200 photographs of Sargent show the artist at work primarily outdoors. Two commonplace books and his personal library offer a glimpse into Sargent’s literary interests. Additionally, letters written by Emily Sargent offer a familial perspective on her brother’s life. The collection contains extended family papers assembled by Richard Ormond, Sargent’s great-nephew.
The collection is overseen by the John Singer Sargent Archivist within the Department of the Art of the Americas, with support from the Department of Prints and Drawings.
Biographical/Historical Note
Born in 1856 in Florence, Italy, to two American parents, John Singer Sargent was recognized as a talented artist from a young age. His mother was an avid traveler, curious about the world, and his father was a doctor with roots in Gloucester and Philadelphia. Sargent had a cosmopolitan childhood: he was immersed in European art and culture, speaking French, Italian, and German in addition to English. He studied briefly at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, and at the age of 18 enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, and entered the independent atelier of the portrait painter Carolus-Duran. Sargent exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon from 1877, establishing his own studio until 1886, when he moved to London. In 1918, he accepted the role as an official war artist traveling to the Western Front. Sargent became the leading portrait painter of his generation, producing 900 oil paintings, 2,000 watercolors, and countless sketches. By the mid-1900s he left his portrait work and concentrated on large-scale mural commissions for the Boston Public Library; Harvard University’s Widener Library; and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Sargent died in London in 1925, leaving no children. After his death, memorial exhibitions were held in Boston, London, and New York.
Contents and Arrangement
The John Singer Sargent Archive is arranged alphabetically and chronologically. The collection is arranged into the following series:
- Series 1: John Singer Sargent Correspondence (1880–1924)
- Series 2: John Singer Sargent Family Correspondence (bulk 1911–1936)
- Series 3: John Singer Sargent Photographs (1858–1924)
- Sub-Series: Portraits of John Singer Sargent
- Sub-Series: Photographs of John Singer Sargent’s Travels
- Sub-Series: John Singer Sargent Family and Friends
- Series 4: Will and Estate Records
- Series 5: Orders, Awards
- Series 6: Genealogy
- Series 7: Bound Volumes
- Sub-Series 1: Commonplace Books
- Sub-series 2: Scrapbooks
- Sub-series 3: Personal Library
- Series 8: Ormond Family Papers
- Series 9: Reference Collection
Separated Materials
Works of art (sketches in the Department of Prints and Drawings, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
Related Collections
At the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Catalog Raisonné Research Material, David McKibbin Papers on John Singer Sargent. Works of art from the Department of Prints and Drawing and Art of the Americas. Boston area collections: Boston Athenaeum, Boston Public Library, Harvard University, Historic New England, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
List of Correspondents
John Singer Sargent Outgoing Correspondence (1880–1924)
Correspondent, last name | Correspondent, first name | Inclusive dates |
---|---|---|
Allouard-Jouan | Emma | n.d. |
Allouard-Jouan | Emma | n.d. (1883) |
Allouard-Jouan | Emma | n.d. |
Castro | Paul di | July 14, 1914 |
Childers | Sybil | n.d.–1918 |
Clark | Walter Leighton | c. 1924 |
Clark | Walter Leighton | c. 1924 |
Clark | Walter Leighton | c. 1924 |
Clark | Walter Leighton | c. 1924 |
Ephrussi | Charles | n.d. |
Monet | Claude | n.d.–1889 |
Monet | Claude | n.d.–1891 |
Monet | Claude | n.d.–1905 |
National Portrait Gallery, London | January 28, 1919 | |
Ormond | Rose Marie | 1914–1916 |
Paget | Violet | 1880–1881 |
Paget | Violet | 1882–1884 |
Paget | Violet | 1893–1899 |
Paget | Violet | 1906–1910 |
Paget | Matilda | 1880, 1883 |
Paine | Charles J. | 1904 |
Priestly | Flora | 1894–1912 |
Sargent | Emily | n.d.–1914 |
Sargent | Emily | 1916–1923 |
Sassoon | Philip | n.d.–1924 |
Stephens | Henrietta | n.d.–1899 |
Tonks | Henry | n.d.–1919 |
Watts | Fannie | n.d. |
Watts | Fannie | n.d. |
Watts | Fannie | 1876–1888 |
Watts | Fannie | 1888–1906 |
Academie der Kunst, Berlin | Fannie | 1916 |
unknown | n.d., 1914 | |
Loeffler | Charles Martin | March 18, 1921 |
Notes and Diagrams | ||
Third Party Correspondence |
John Singer Sargent Family Correspondence
Correspondent from | to | Inclusive dates |
---|---|---|
Emily Sargent | Violet Paget (Vernon Lee) | 1880–1890 |
Emily Sargent | Henry Tonks | 1911–1932 |
Emily Sargent | Henry Tonks | 1932–1934 |
Emily Sargent | Henry Tonks | 1934–1936 |
Henry Tonks | Emily Sargent | April 15, 1925–February 28, 1930 |
Henry Tonks | Emily Sargent | January 9, 1931–December 15, 1931 |
Henry Tonks | Emily Sargent | January 19, 1932–December 24, 1932 |
Henry Tonks | Emily Sargent | January 3, 1933–December 22, 1933 |
Henry Tonks | Emily Sargent | January 12, 1934–July 13, 1934 |
Henry Tonks | Emily Sargent | July 24, 1934–December 26, 1934 |
Henry Tonks | Emily Sargent | February 8, 1935–September 18, 1935 |
John Singer Sargent Family Correspondence
Correspondent from | to | Inclusive dates |
---|---|---|
Henry Tonks | Emily Sargent | October 8, 1935–April 15, 1936 |
Mary Steer and Mabel Robinson | Henry Tonks | 1930–1924 |
Mary Newbold Singer | various | 1854–1857 |