Thomas Whittemore
artist
John Singer Sargent
(Florence, 1856 - 1925, London)
Date1922
Place MadeUnited States, North America
MediumCharcoal on paper
Dimensions60.3 x 45.1 cm (23 3/4 x 17 3/4 in.)
ClassificationsDrawings
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberP11e17
eMuseum ID724128
EmbARK ObjectID13609
TMS Source ID2506
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryArt historian Thomas Whittemore was a close friend to Isabella Stewart Gardner, who shared his interest in early Christian material culture. This charcoal portrait by John Singer Sargent, another dear friend of hers, portrays Whittemore as a dashing figure, his intelligent brow capped by a brimless lambskin hat. As the founder of the Byzantine Institute of America, Whittemore was instrumental to the preservation of the celebrated mosaics at the Aya Sofya in Istanbul, Turkey.
BibliographyNotesWilliam Howe Downes. John S. Sargent: His Life and Work (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1925), p. 304.
Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), p. 328.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), pp. 74-75.
Rollin Hadley. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 8, no. 15 (13 Dec. 1964), p. 2.
Rollin van N. Hadley (ed.). Drawings: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 1968), pp. 52-54, no. 26.
George L. Stout. Treasures from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1969), pp. 74-75.
Richard Ormond. John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal. (New York City, The Morgan Library & Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, 2019) pp. 168, fig. 49.
Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), p. 328.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), pp. 74-75.
Rollin Hadley. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 8, no. 15 (13 Dec. 1964), p. 2.
Rollin van N. Hadley (ed.). Drawings: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 1968), pp. 52-54, no. 26.
George L. Stout. Treasures from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1969), pp. 74-75.
Richard Ormond. John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal. (New York City, The Morgan Library & Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, 2019) pp. 168, fig. 49.
MarksNotesSigned and dated in charcoal (lower edge): John S. Sargent 1922
ProvenanceNotesPresumably a gift from John Singer Sargent to Thomas Whittemore (1871–1950), American scholar and archaeologist, 1922.
Gift from Whittemore to Isabella Stewart Gardner, 1922–1924.
Gift from Whittemore to Isabella Stewart Gardner, 1922–1924.
