Friday, August 27, 2010

Sargent TV


John Singer Sargent in his Paris studio with his scandalous painting Madame X; photograph by Auguste Giraudon, 1884.

As promised in the previous post, I am uploading here videos tours through the exhibitions John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Praise of Women and Empire Waists, Bustles & Lace: A Century of New York Fashion, now on view at the Fenimore Art Museum in Coopertown, New York, through December 31st. The Sargent show includes 22 works and was curated by Dr. Paul D'Ambroiso in conjunction with Patricia Hill.
John Singer Sargent is one of my favorite painters. Once in London I walked in the rain back to the Tate Gallery to buy a poster of this painting, Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose:

I loved how in this painting he combined portraiture, clothing, garden flowers and the magical gloam of dusk. In his portraits, besides perfectly expressing the subject's personality, Sargent, who was a confirmed bachelor, exquisitely captured textures, textiles, interiors and gardens – a beautiful way to live.
Here is the cover of the Fenimore exhibition catalogue:

I grew up in New Hartford, New York, outside of Utica, not far from Cooperstown. While going through the shows with their two curators, we discovered some neat coincidences: Sargent curator Dr. D'Ambroiso lives in New Hartford, and costume curator Chris Rossi showed nineteenth century dresses worn by two sisters from Utica. I hope you enjoy these videos.



3 comments:

Reggie Darling said...

These posts on your visit to Cooperstown and Sharon Springs are great! Boy and I are planning a trip there this fall, and your posts are a treat ahead of time. Next time you go to Cooperstown, be sure to check out Hyde Hall, a huge early 19th century stately home, if you haven't already seen it. Thanks, Reggie

Bart Boehlert said...

Reggie, I was thinking of you because I know you live upstate. I'm glad you enjoyed the posts. We did pass signs for Hyde Hall – next time!
BB

Anne said...

I'm a Sargent fan myself and yet those pictures shown in the video were new to me! Wonderful. I also enjoyed Dr. D'Ambroiso comments. Thank you