John Singer Sargent

In my mind, no artist is more skilled in the bravura manner of painting than American painter John Singer Sargent (1856-1925). Known for his bold, precise, economic brushwork, Sargent's oil paintings are simply breathtaking. His drawings and watercolors seem just as effortless. However, such results came from great deliberation, as Sargent was known to repeatedly scrape away his attempts until satisfied.

Sargent was born in Florence, Italy in 1856 to American parents. He studied briefly in Florence before continuing his studies in Paris with Carolus-Duran at the École des Beaux Arts. He established himself as a premiere portrait painter of the upper class, often traveling between England and America for business. His U.S. commissions include the official White House portrait of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Here in Boston, where Sargent had strong New England roots, the city proudly maintains a heavy presence of his work at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (MFA), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston Public Library, and The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

My Sketchbook Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

After graduating college years ago, I worked a stint at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A chief job perk was the opportunity to spend lunch breaks sketching directly from my favorite museum paintings. At the time, most MFA-collection portraits by my heroes John Singer Sargent and Anders Zorn were housed in the upper rotunda, just outside the library. It was my favorite location in the entire museum. Since then, I’ve returned to the MFA with my sketchbook many times. Today I’m sharing one such museum sketch of Sargent’s 1887 Mrs. Edward Darley Boit (Mary Louisa Cushing), mother of the four daughters in Sargent’s famous 1882 painting, The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit.