Letter to Isabella Stewart Gardner from South Kensington
correspondent
John Singer Sargent
(Florence, 1856 - 1925, London)
Date1886
Place MadeLondon, Greater London, England, Europe
MediumInk on paper
Dimensions17.6 x 22.5 cm (6 15/16 x 8 7/8 in.)
ClassificationsManuscripts
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberARC.003956
eMuseum ID726642
EmbARK ObjectID24704
Other NumberU27w187
TMS Source ID9038
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryIn this letter of introduction, John Singer Sargent presents himself to his future patron with extraordinary care: “Ralph Curtis & Henry James have both told me of your arrival and authorized me to call on you, which I have the greatest desire to do. . . . James told me that on Wednesday afternoon he proposed taking you to the Academy [the Royal Academy of Arts] & Grosvenor [a gallery of contemporary art in London], and it was proposed that afterward he might bring you to my studio, if you felt inclined.” The young painter’s eagerness is unmistakable throughout these polite inquiries, which initiated their lasting friendship.
John Singer Sargent
20 August 1916
