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Fashioned by John Singer Sargent

October 6, 2023

John Singer Sargent portrait painting of Lady Helen Vincent — John Singer Sargent, "Lady Helen Vincent, Vicountess d’Abernon," 1904, Oil on canvas. Collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art. Museum purchase with funds provided by John Bohorfoush, the 1984 Museum Dinner and Ball, and the Museum Store. 1984.121.

John Singer Sargent collection at the MFA Boston
Through January 15, 2024
“Fashioned by Sargent”
www.mfa.org

In portraits by John Singer Sargent (1856–1925), sitters assume elegant stances, the fabric of their dress richly depicted in broad, sensuous strokes of paint. Sargent brought his subjects to life, but he did much more than simply record what appeared before him. He often chose what his sitters wore and, even if they arrived in his studio dressed in the latest fashions, he frequently simplified and altered the details. Exploiting dress was an integral part of his artistry.

John Singer Sargent, "Mrs. Fiske Warren (Gretchen Osgood) and Her Daughter Rachel," 1903, Oil on canvas. Gift of Mrs. Rachel Warren Barton and Emily L. Ainsley Fund. — John Singer Sargent, “Mrs. Fiske Warren (Gretchen Osgood) and Her Daughter Rachel,” 1903, Oil on canvas. Gift of Mrs. Rachel Warren Barton and Emily L. Ainsley Fund.

John Templeman Coolidge, John Singer Sargent painting Mrs. Fiske Warren (Gretchen Osgood) and her daughter Rachel in the Gothic Room, 1903Platinum print. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. — John Templeman Coolidge, John Singer Sargent painting Mrs. Fiske Warren (Gretchen Osgood) and her daughter Rachel in the Gothic Room, 1903
Platinum print. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.

Organized with Tate Britain, “Fashioned by Sargent” explores the artist’s complex relationship with his often-affluent clients and their clothes. The exhibition reveals Sargent’s power over his sitters’ images by considering the liberties he took with sartorial choices to express distinctive personalities, social positions, professions, gender identities, and nationalities. Alongside about 50 paintings by Sargent, over a dozen period garments and accessories shed new light on the relationship between fashion and this beloved artist’s creative practice.

John Singer Sargent, "Lady Agnew of Lochnaw," 1892, oil on canvas. National Galleries of Scotland, purchased with the aid of the Cowan Smith Bequest Fund, 1925 — John Singer Sargent, “Lady Agnew of Lochnaw,” 1892, oil on canvas. National Galleries of Scotland, purchased with the aid of the Cowan Smith Bequest Fund, 1925

John Singer Sargent, "Lord Ribblesdale," 1902Oil on canvas. The National Gallery, London, presented by Lord Ribblesdale in memory of Lady Ribblesdale and his sons, Captain the Hon. Thomas Lister and Lieutenant the Hon. Charles Lister. 1916. — John Singer Sargent, “Lord Ribblesdale,” 1902
Oil on canvas. The National Gallery, London, presented by Lord Ribblesdale in memory of Lady Ribblesdale and his sons, Captain the Hon. Thomas Lister and Lieutenant the Hon. Charles Lister. 1916.

“The coat is the picture,” Sargent once told Graham Robertson, clearly articulating the role dress played in his work. The exhibition features Robertson’s portrait as well as style icons like Madame X, Lady Agnew, and Dr. Pozzi at Home.

Visitors can also see several paintings together with the garments worn by the sitters, among them Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth with her beetle-wing-encrusted costume, and Mrs. Charles Inches (Louise Pomeroy) with her red velvet evening gown. Step into the making of a Sargent portrait and consider ideas of curating—and controlling—one’s image.