The Spirit of the Water Lily
painter
John La Farge
(New York, 1835 - 1910, Providence)
Date1861-1862
Place MadeUnited States, North America
MediumWatercolor on mechanical reproduction of woodblock drawing
Dimensions12.7 x 9.5 cm (5 x 3 3/4 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberP3n3
eMuseum ID717525
EmbARK ObjectID10836
TMS Source ID103
Last Updated11/6/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryIsabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.
BibliographyNotesOrtgies and Co. Supplementary Catalogue of Water Colors by John La Farge (New York, 17 April 1884), p. 7, no. 23.
Catalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 1. (as one of the water colors by La Farge hung in "the Small Room on the left of the Antechamber")
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), 34.
Philip Hendy. Catalogue of the Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), p. 197.
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974) p. 132, ill.
James L. Yarnall. "New Insights on John La Farge and Photography." American Art Journal 19, no. 2 (1987), 62-69, 63 fig. 16, 79 n. 26. (as about 1883-84, and with media specified as "watercolor and gouache over photomechanical reproduction of india ink drawing on woodblock before cutting")
James L. Yarnall. "Nature and Art in the Painting of John La Farge.'" in John La Farge. Exh. cat. (Pittsburgh: Carnegie Museum of Art; Washington, D.C.: National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1987), p. 98.
Kathleen A. Foster. "John La Farge and the American Watercolor Movement: Art of the 'Decorative Age.'" in John La Farge. Exh. cat. (Pittsburgh: Carnegie Museum of Art; Washington, D.C.: National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1987), pp. 133 fig. 96, 134. (as about 1883)
James L. Yarnall. John La Farge, A Biographical and Critical Study (Farnham, Surrey, 2012), pp. x, 126, fig. 4.15. (as about 1883-84)
Catalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 1. (as one of the water colors by La Farge hung in "the Small Room on the left of the Antechamber")
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), 34.
Philip Hendy. Catalogue of the Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), p. 197.
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974) p. 132, ill.
James L. Yarnall. "New Insights on John La Farge and Photography." American Art Journal 19, no. 2 (1987), 62-69, 63 fig. 16, 79 n. 26. (as about 1883-84, and with media specified as "watercolor and gouache over photomechanical reproduction of india ink drawing on woodblock before cutting")
James L. Yarnall. "Nature and Art in the Painting of John La Farge.'" in John La Farge. Exh. cat. (Pittsburgh: Carnegie Museum of Art; Washington, D.C.: National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1987), p. 98.
Kathleen A. Foster. "John La Farge and the American Watercolor Movement: Art of the 'Decorative Age.'" in John La Farge. Exh. cat. (Pittsburgh: Carnegie Museum of Art; Washington, D.C.: National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1987), pp. 133 fig. 96, 134. (as about 1883)
James L. Yarnall. John La Farge, A Biographical and Critical Study (Farnham, Surrey, 2012), pp. x, 126, fig. 4.15. (as about 1883-84)
ProvenanceNotesPurchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner at an auction of the artist's watercolors at Ortgies and Co., New York for $180 on 17 April 1884, lot 23.
Adelia Smith Stewart
mid 18th century - late 19th century
