Product Description
The name of John Singer Sargent evokes paintings of marvelously gowned Edwardian belles, of brooding aristocrats and princes of industry--insightful portraits executed with dazzling virtuosity.

Sargent's enduring popularity has prompted a thoughtful reappraisal by prominent art critic Carter Ratcliff, who shows us the surprising breadth of the artist's work. Never before has a book so thoroughly represented that variety: 110 lavish color plates and more than 200 halftones convey the brilliance of his portraits, the exuberance of his watercolors, the stately pomp of his murals. It is perhaps the watercolors that are most exciting to contemporary eyes--bold, spontaneous, and vividly hued, they have a breathtaking immediacy.

Born in Florence in 1856 to American parents, Sargent spent a nomadic childhood before going to Paris to study painting. He learned quickly and by the 1880s had begun the steady climb to fame that ultimately placed him at the center of his world, with a circle of friends and rivals that included Henry James, Claude Monet, and James McNeill Whistler. When Sargent died in 1925, a childhood companion wrote in her memorial that "the summing up of a would-be biographer must, I think be: He painted." It is the strikingly beautiful results of that lifelong devotion to his art that glow throughout the pages of this incomparable book.

Other Details:
338 illustrations, 110 in full color. 256 pages. 11 x 13" trim size. Published in 2001. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Beautiful, Beautiful
This is a stunning book that we had for years and then was damaged in a flood. We had to have it again and are so grateful it is still in print. A lovely book.

A pleasure
If I had only one book on John Singer Sargent, I would be happy with this one. It is affordable, well printed , and even if it is not the best book on John Singer Sargent , it is a good one. It helps the reader understand why Sargent was so good at what he was doing, with a multitude of examples.A great book if one is interested in or studies representational Art , or figurative painting. It illustrates well the long, fruitful and distinguished career of Sargent.Thank you for writing this book.

Disappointed - more than one third is black and white
I am getting to the point I buy art books with extreme caution. If you are like me, and would like to look at the paintings in some detail, this book may be a disappointment to you. I paged through it in growing irritation - like many other art books, this seems to have way too many black and white images, and these will take up a whole page, while the color pictures are the size of a quarter of the page or less. The few that are full page size are somewhat blurry. Why would the publisher do this in this day and age? If they were trying to keep the cost down, well . . . sort of. It is still pretty expensive unless you get it at some kind of discount.
In my humble opinion, black and white should only be used in cases where the original is destroyed. I mean, come on. If you have paid for the rights and sent out a crew to 'private collections' to get the images, you know they have color versions. They do. They just don't seem to want to print them that way. Many of Sargent's works only come across in their full power in color. They seem bland and washed out in black and white.

This is not the stone age, so for this book which has almost 400 paintings, some of which are crammed 3 to a page - to have more than 100 of those in black and white is not only disappointing, it's inexcusable in this day and age. By contrast, the book 'The Society Portrait' byGabriel Badea-Päun and Richard Ormond is roughly the same size, but it is 100% color and is actually LESS expensive. So the argument that black and white saves money is pretty flimsy. I think it must come down to laziness or just not caring. An even worse offender is the typical 'Catalogue Raisonne'- those have just about broken my heart and my wallet - as I learned very quickly, more expensive doesn't necessarily mean more color and larger pictures. That kind of art book is typically $300-$400 and 99% black and white. For academics only. So in light of that, I guess this book does ok. I am still disappointed, like another reviewer. Any books published after 1980 should have mostly if not all color images. Buy with caution.

great buy
The book was a bargain for what I payed. I wish I could find more at the price I paid fof it

sargentolatry
This book is a good career overview of Sargent. It has an abundance of full page reproductions of his works, and shows many which I haven't seen in as much detail elsewhere such as his Boston murals. If you are picky, the reproductions are not the best quality but they are big. (most of them in my copy are good, but there are a few dull / blurry ones.) The text is unusually insightful and engaging. ... Read more

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Product Description
Collection of portraits, selected from public and private holdings by art historian Trevor J. Fairbrother, reveal the technical skill and intuitive eye for which American portrait painter John Singer Sargent is renowned. Drawings in pencil, pastels and charcoal—a lesser-known aspect of Sargent’s oeuvre—are shown. List of Plates. Introduction. Captions.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Sargeant Portrait Drawings
A bit disappointing as there are few guidelines or words of instruction.

Therese

Beautiful book
It's remarkable how these quick, seemingly simple drawings contain so much knowledge. Sargent's drawings have as much artistic merit as his paintings. It's sad that the drawings are more obscure.

Although you have never met any of the people in this book, when you see their faces you will understand that this person really existed. No photograph is capable of having such a powerful presence. Some of these drawings look like they convey several facial expressions at once. In one single drawing the person might be smiling, might be starting to frown, they are looking over here but in a second they might look over there. Many great portraits created by other artists use this same illusion, most famously the Mona Lisa. Sargent was equally proficient at drawing all types of people, it made no difference if the subject was young or old, rich or poor, male or female, friendly or distant.

Maybe I'm just imagining it, but it seems like not only was Sargent capable of capturing the model's individual personality, he was also able to capture the personality of the models occupation. Artists are portrayed as reserved but watchful, dancers are proud and drawn as if they are actually in motion, writers are serious and always drawn with dark shadows obscuring half of their faces.

Like many Dover books, this is a beautiful book for little money. The Amazon preview doesn't do it justice, because it only shows the artist's earliest work. (And, as always, the resolution of the screen is worse than the resolution of print.) The book is in roughly chronological order, starting from Sargent's days as an art student. I love seeing how he improves over time.

Learn from a master
It is good to study the master artists and for beginners learning to draw is required.I love having 42 drawings to examine, glad this collection was put in a small book, it's wonderful.

Humble Publishing But worthwhile as a buy.
Sargent's work herein is far more informative, and a revealation
than many a contemporary artist. Even at his most humble of efforts
his rendings and drawings offer wisdom and insight in terms of approach. method and Attitude without wordiness or hype. This humble offering is well worth its price. It puts more pricey books to shame by delivering
simply proof positive of the heights of genius that can be reached through persistent ongoing effort.

St. Sargent charcoal drawings
This book is worth much more than what you'll pay for it! These masterful portraits are beautiful, simple, personal. Executed with fluidity and rapidity, the people captured here practically breathe within the pages of this book. Every artist can learn something about Sargent's quiet intimacy here. ... Read more

Product Description
In this beautiful book, Trevor Fairbrother argues that viewing John Singer Sargent as a sensualist connects otherwise conflicting elements of his oeuvre and offers a new interpretation of his life and work. The book is lavishly illustrated with examples of the artist's oils, watercolors, and sketches, and it includes a little-known series of expressive charcoal drawings of male nudes, here published together in color for the first time.Published in association with the Seattle Art Museum ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Underwhelming Overall
I was a disappointed by this book. Most of the reproductions lack luster and most of them are too small. To make matters worst, probably a third to half of the images are in black and white. What is the point of putting out a book on Sargent when we the readers can't enjoy his color palette? I can understand reproducing sketches in black and white, but to have finished paintings reproduced in black and white is totally absurd.

Another beautiful Sargentbook
After I graduated from art school, I realized I'd taken that massive library for granted, and that I was going to have to invest in my own art books if I wanted to retain them as a source of inspiration and instruction. Of the fine artists, Sargent was my first target, not just because of his exceptional art, but also because the apparent explosion of interest in his work that has occurred in the last decade or so means that books about him are easy to find. This is the second Sargent book I've purchased, and what I like best about it is the quality and variety of the reproductions: there are oil paintings both famous and obscure, lovely watercolors, and a nice collection of incredible nude figure drawings. While it is hardly a comprehensive view of Sargent's work, this is a great overview for anyone with a passing interest in the artist and a wonderful addition to any enthusiast's collection. Highly recommended.

Not quite a bad book on Sargent ...
This is my 3rd book on Sargent purchased from Amazon so I might have been expecting something more. It's very well prepared, though I think that no painting should be printed in black and white! I found the few black and white images quite annoying actually. The rest of the book is well presented, but I found the occasional reference and clear bias about Sargent's private life is quite irrelevant for me.

APT TRIBUTE TO JOHN SINGER SARGENT

Handsome and powerfully built, American painter John Singer Sargent (1856 - 1925) epitomized the versatility of the Realist approach.Noted for his luminous portraits of the wealthy and famous on both sides of the Atlantic, he astonished viewers and critics alike with his powers of observation and deft renderings.A visitor to his studio once noted that he had painted his model's scarf with one sweep of his brush.

Trevor Fairbrother has prepared a rich and meticulous analysis of this expatriate painter in "John Singer Sargent," a volume in Abrams' acclaimed Library of American Art Series.In his preface Fairbrother states, "I want this book to reflect the complexity of Sargent's affiliations and practices as an artist.I will try to provide a balanced representation of the man and his art, in the hope of understanding the unusual highs and lows of his reputation."Fairbrother accomplishes these goals admirably.

Born in Florence, educated in Florence and Dresden, influenced by Velasquez, Sargent's career as a portraitist began in Paris.He later settled in London where he maintained a rigorous schedule, adding watercolors and drawings to his expanding oeuvre.His portraits were commissioned by the Rockefeller family, statesmen, authors, and actors, enhancing Sargent's celebrity.It was argued snobbishly "that Sargent was most useful to people with new money or foreign blood who want to buy social recognition."

In a day that paid homage to power and physical beauty, very much as we do today, Sargent knew no peer.With some 100 illustrations and well crafted text, this beautiful volume represents him well.

- Gail Cooke

Excelente!
Singer es un pintor a quien debe verse en vivo en los museos; el único inconveniente que encuentro en el libro es su tamaño, esas pinturas se disrutan mucho más en formatos más grandes ... Read more

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REVIEW: "This exemplary biography is manifestly fascinating." (Baltimore Sun)REVIEW: "[Olson has produced] an absorbing, detailed, comprehensive biography of this intriguing enigma of a man." (Library Journal)REVIEW: "Olson`s prose is a rich, almost Jamesian affair, ferociously literate, archly elliptical." (The New York Times)REVIEW: "Stanley Olson has written a superb account." (San Francisco Chronicle)REVIEW: "John Singer Sargent is one heck of a good book. Read it." (The Washington Times Magazine)REVIEW: "This biography conveys vividly and with considerable charm and wit a sense of the social world of the distinguished American portrait painter." (The Virginia Quarterly Review)REVIEW: "This biography rescues Sargent....from the shadows of his famous subjects." (United Press International)AUTHORBIO: STANLEY OLSON, like Sargent, was an American expatriate; born in 1947 in Ohio, he lived in London from 1969 until his untimely death, from a stroke, in 1989. Scholar, writer, dandy, aesthete, gourmet, and impeccable host, he was a much-loved and admired member of London`s literary world. He authored Elinor Wylie: A Life Apart and edited the abridged Harold Nicolson: Diaries & Letters 1930-1964.

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent Sargent biography
About 6 by 9 inches. 280 pages. Footnoted. Approximately 50 illustrations, allB&W. With an extensive notes section. Two appendices; one for Sargent's family genealogy, another for a description in Sargent's own words of his Boston murals project. 1986. St. Martin's Press.
In Olson's view, Sargent biography occurred in three main phases. Immediately after Sargent's death, his friend, Evan Charteris, wrote the first biography. In the `50s, Charles Merrill Mount wrote the second. After another thirty years, Olson wrote this third, his own biography of Sargent. I've read this last first and plan to read the earlier ones next. This perhaps odd reverse order to ensure that I have the bare facts quite straight from the beginning, because although Charteris personally knew Sargent and his book is affectionate, Sargent's sisters complained that the correct facts were not always there in that first book. But with the facts now straight, the earlier biographies can be read more for perhaps additional color. And of course the idea of only three real biographies of Sargent is inaccurate. For example, Patricia Hills' biography came out the same year as Olson's.
Why read a complete Sargent biography? Most of his life, at least the broad facts, is there in condensed form in the many available books on his art. His work is seldom discussed in a vacuum. Along with reproductions and discussion about them, there's, "Born 1856 in Florence, Italy to inveterate expatriate parents..." One good reason is to learn more details, to see not just the walls but the bricks in the wall. Olson's book is quite informative. Of particular interest to an artist, for example, is Sargent's sympathetic advice to his artist friend, Paul Helleu. Once entering Helleu's studio and finding him in despair amidst discarded sketches and pastels, Sargent assured Helleu that he thought them just fine and expressed a desire to buy one. When Helleu countered that all that was well and good but the works were not what he had intended, Sargent replied that such was always the case. As if artist may propose, but paper or canvas disposes. From Sargent this is quite curious. Frequently accused of almost unnatural (and somehow un-artistic) technical facility, one would think that Sargent before anyone would be able to routinely produce precisely what he intended a priori. Was he telling his truth or merely solacing a good friend? This is of real interest to the rest of us, who now and then might produce some good work... but largely by accident.
Another reason to read this biography is Olson's fine, even entertaining and witty way of writing. We read that Sargent's parents, interviewing potential wet nurses, learn a quintessential Italian fact, why tell the truth when a perfectly good lie will do. The breast feeding candidate, first deposed and denied, returned again another day for a second shot with new costume, dyed hair and an assumed name. Perhaps maddeningly painful lactic tension was her impetus. It certainly could not have been the Anglo American food. Such is the charm of Italy. I truly love it.
Still another benefit is access to Olson's reasoned opinions. For example, Sargent's almost blank personal /sex life. Opinions on this vary considerably. The fact that Sargent left no public trail in this regard, leads me, despite any suspicions, to respect his privacy. Olson argues from the same common material that there is no evidence that he was homosexual or not. Other writers, as near as I can understand them, argue oddly that Sargent's evident artistic inclinations must imply that he was homosexual? As if anyone familiar with magenta and mauve must be homosexual? From the top of my head ... magenta is a redder violet, mauve more blue. Original mauve was a coal tar derivative dye discovered early in the 19th Century. It proved extremely popular for women's clothing and for a season or two was the signature color of the ladies of Queen Victoria's court. Mauve was also the surname of a Belgian artist who briefly taught Vincent van Gogh?
As an aside, Olson plausibly argues that "John Singer Sargent" is an error. Sargent is never known to refer to himself as such. A signature of "John S. Sargent" is as formal as he got. However, in this day of the Internet, searching "John Singer Sargent" unfailingly leads to the correct sites. In contrast, searching "John S Sargent" often does, but also often does not, leading instead to various other "John S Sargent"s, ward politicos, advertising dentists, soccer players, who knows what. Alas, Olson will never be aware of this counter argument to "John S Sargent", he died much too young at 42 shortly after completing this most excellent book. Nor shall we benefit from more good writing by Olson, an American with a University of London PhD in literature.
In sum, I unreservedly recommend reading Stanley Olson's biography of Sargent. But, I'd read it right next to a large book of decent Sargent color reproductions.

Interesting book
I really enjoyed the book. He was an interesting character who seemed to be liked by everyone and didn't take himself too seriously. My only complaint: for a book about a painter the figures are of poor quality. ... Read more

Product Description
Published on occasion of the major Sargent retrospective traveling to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1999, John Singer Sargent:The Male Nudes brings to light a fascinating portion of Sargent's work long hidden from the public eye.

Beginning in his adolescence, and throughout his distinguished career, John Singer Sargent, the celebrated painter of patricians, produced a superbly rendered, uninhibited book of work that was rarely seen and never exhibited:the male nudes. Models were a significant aspect of the great painter's profession, whether they were commission-producing society "sitters" or professional models used as reference for his three Boston mural projects or works created for his private enjoyment--one young Italian model stayed in the artist's employ for nearly twenty-six years. Sargent's enduring subject was capturing the "human form divine" in portraits of the fashionable and famous and the absolute male.

Over the last century, these little-known works have been dispersed to museum archives and private collections throughout the United States and Great Britain. John Esten has unearthed the most extraordinary of these images, ranging from vibrant watercolors and oil paintings to charcoal studies, published here for the first time in a single volume.
Amazon.com Review
The beauty and gentle eroticism of John Singer Sargent's paintings and drawings of nude males are the raison d'être of this otherwise somewhat slight book. Most are exquisitely languid, with such tender touches as a pink tinge on the buttocks of a boy lying prone on a beach in Capri, or two intimate "tommies"--privates in the World War I British Army--napping on a riverbank after a swim, heads together. Then there are a few nude wrestling matches, à la Eadweard Muybridge and D.H. Lawrence. And, as the author somewhat frantically insists, there are works that possess an "uplifting and spiritual aspect."

The wonder is that Sargent's sisters preserved these works--which the artist had kept private--after his death. They are thrilling, as much for Sargent's astonishing facility with a brushload of color as for the sensuous subjects. The essay may be skipped by readers who wince when informed that any subject of a society portrait by Sargent was "transformed into a fashionable denizen of the Edwardian age, whomever he was." Author John Esten sniffs prissily at the suggestion that Sargent may have harbored homoerotic feelings, while the works themselves often unabashedly focus on the genitalia of the models, and the ones that don't are filled with the kind of closeness and warmth of observation that makes the model's soft skin seem almost palpable. Linger over the book's 18 color plates, which are a lasting, luscious pleasure; the scores of black-and-white drawings are similarly inspired. --Peggy Moorman ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Nice collection
A very nice collection of an often over looked body of Mr. Sargent's work along with an appropriate amount of written background on the subjects and paintings themselves.

A delightful slim volume
Following the foreword are two very brief essays which discuss Sargent's background and his work. A sensitive and intelligent appraisal of the artist and his approach to the studies under consideration here, one that especially in the light of the context does not skirt around the inclinations of the artist's heart, and addresses the possibility of a relationship with his loyal and devoted lithe young Italian valet and occasional model who resided in the Sargent household for twenty six years.

The work presented here is superb; sensitive yet dynamic drawings and paintings; the text makes an interesting observation to the observer's response to them, but however one views them one cannot deny their beauty. One of the first illustrated is an oil painting of a young boy lying on the beach, and the pose immediately brings to mind similar subject matter painted by Joaquin Sorolla, produced some twenty or so years after Sargent's effort.

The plates run from page twelve to page seventy eight, and include sketches, charcoal drawings, watercolours and oils, of which eighteen are in full colour, occasionally accompanied by a few relevant notes. The book concludes with a chronology and selected bibliography.

This is a delightful book, slim and not over large; the work contained within is unrestrained, evocative, seemingly effortless; unquestionably the work of a great master.

SAVE YOUR MONEY!
Good heavens, this type of art may have been considered "risque" or bold or even vulgar at the time of its creation, but I was just bored.The male figure, in various poses, without clothing.*yawns*

An important side of Sargent rarely seen
This short book by John Esten is a well-illustrated look at one subject area in John Singer Sargent's works that is not often examined in an focused or isolated manner.This missing scholarship probably has its roots in the historic squeamishness attached to too hard a look at the male anatomy in print.So bravos to the author for taking this on and doing a fine job of it.Among other things, this is a useful collection for anyone who is trying his own hand at figure drawing--Sargent is a master to be studied seriously.Beyond that, the paintings and drawings illustrated are a joy to behold.The text of the book is rather brief, but adequate in providing some speculative background into the painter's work withand interest in the male figure.Overall, this is a fine and valuable book for anyone interested in Sargent or, more generally, in figure painting.

Images that speak for themselves
It's hard to believe there was a time when the images in this book would have been considered pornographic. But if Singer's portrait of Madame Pierre Gautreau ("Madame X") was considered scandalous because he painted her with a dropped shoulder strap (later repainted in its proper position), then you can understand why these male nudes (mostly charcoal sketches and quick watercolors, but also some finished oil paintings) were kept unexhibited for so long. We have Sargent's sisters to thank that they were not destroyed outright, but carefully placed with museums for safekeeping.

If text is the clothing of art books, then Donna Hassler has provided THE MALE NUDES with less than a loin cloth. But there's not much that needs to be said, anyway. The plates should be enjoyed in their own right. I especially enjoyed the charcoal drawings. They are contextless and their strong outlines give them extra punch and a sense of iconic completeness. Though well rounded and subtly shaded, they remind me somehow of Jean Cocteau's spirited line drawings. The watercolors reminded me of Winslow Homer's. All in all, a nice little book. ... Read more

Product Description
The remarkable portraits for which John Singer Sargent is most famous are only one aspect of a career that included landscapes, watercolors, figure subjects, and murals. Even within portraiture, his style ranged from bold experiments to studied formality. And the subjects of his paintings were as varied as his styles, including the leaders of fashionable society, rural laborers, city streets, remote mountains, and the front lines of World War I. This beautiful book surveys and evaluates the extraordinary range of Sargent's work, and reproduces 150 of his paintings in color. It accompanies a spectacular international exhibition--the first major retrospective of the artist's career since the memorial exhibitions that followed his death.

Sargent (1856-1925) was a genuinely international figure. Born of American parents, he grew up in Europe and forged his early reputation in Paris. Later, he established himself in England and the United States as the leading portraitist of the day, and traveled widely in North Africa and the Middle East. Contributors to this book assess Sargent's career in three essays. Richard Ormond presents a biographical sketch and, in a second essay, reviews Sargent's development as an artist. Mary Crawford Volk explores his thirty-year involvement with painting murals--in particular the works at the Boston Public Library and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts that Sargent regarded as his greatest achievement.

The book arranges Sargent's paintings into sections that reflect every phase and aspect of his career. We encounter, for example, such famous early works as Oyster Gatherers of Cancale, Sargent's robust and brilliantly lit scene of fishing life in Brittany. We see many of his greatest American and English portraits, including his daringly posed portrait of Bostonian Isabella Stewart Gardner and his audacious painting of Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, which caused a sensation in London in 1893. The book also includes important late works such as Gassed, his monumental painting of soldiers blinded by mustard gas on the western front, and many of his ambitious murals in Boston.

Sargent is a visually stunning, beautifully written, and perceptive work on one of the most important and admired artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.Amazon.com Review
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), the famous portrait painter,spent his childhood traveling around Europe with his Americanexpatriate parents. After studying at Paris's Ecole des Beaux Arts, helaunched his career at the Paris Salon. But scandal ensued after heexhibited his most famous portrait, Madame X. The daring (atthe time) picture of a beautiful socialite in a provocative dress, hershoulder strap slipping off, created such a stir among its viewersthat Sargent eventually repainted the strap into a more properposition and relocated to London. There he continued portraitpainting. Creating lush images full of light and incredible brushwork,"[He] breathed new life into the tradition of grand mannerportraiture. Like his great predecessors he made his sitters looknobler, more beautiful than they were in reality.... What Sargentbrought to the tradition that was new and different was his ability toinfuse into his portraits a sense of the immediate and the actual, asif what we see before us is life unfolding as it really is." In 1907,the portraitist abandoned the craft and focused primarily on muralcommissions, like the one for the Boston Public Library, and landscapepainting.

This book, the catalog to a traveling exhibition that hits theNational Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Boston Museum ofFine Arts, among other venues, includes three essays on Sargent's lifeand work and detailed background information for all the paintingsshown. It is a manageable 285 pages, with 171 color and 85black-and-white images. --Jennifer Cohen ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Handsome and well produced
Three essays introduce the catalogue: John Singer Sargent: A Biographical Sketch and Sargent's Ark, both by Richard Ormon, Director of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, and the artist's great nephew; and Sargent in Public: On the Boston Murals by art historian Mary Crawford Volk. The Catalogue itself is divided into sections: Early Landscapes and Subject Pictures; Paris and the Salon; Impressionism; Portraiture in England and America; The Murals; Sargent the Watercolourist; Late Landscapes, Figure Studies and the war. The book concludes with a Chronology, Selected Bibliography and an Index.

The Catalogue provides a comprehensive commentary on each picture. Many of the entries are illustrated; in total there are 171 colour images and 85 black and white; the black and white images include some photographs and the work of other artists.

The beauty of this book is not just the reproductions, which are beautifully presented and many of which are half page or full page size, but also the accompanying commentaries printed alongside. A very handsome and well produced book.

12" x 9.6" (30.5 cm x 24.5 cm) 285 pages. Published 1998, ISBN 069100434X Hardback

Great illustrations
I bought this book on sale at a book store for less that ten dollars.The illustrations are far larger and better than in the sixty dollar books on Sargent I've bought.

Comprehensive Collection of Sargent's Art
This book accompanied an international exhibit traveling from the Tate Gallery, London, to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and finally to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.Edited by Richard Ormond (the artist's great nephew and Director of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich) and Elaine Kilmurray (author of catalogue raisonne of Sargent's work), the book encompasses the breadth of Sargent's work as an artist.
I used this book as a reference while reading the biography "John Singer Sargent:His Portrait" by Stanley Olson.This is a comprehensive collection of Sargent's art from his early works including The Oyster Gatherers of Cancale to later works such as the painting Gassed (a monumental canvas done for the British War Memorial Committee of the Ministry of Information).
As represented by this book, Sargent was much more than only a portraitist."He was not a portrait painter who practiced as a muralist and landscapist on the side, he was all three in equal measure, and he gave to each in succession his undivided attention."The book includes:many of his Venetian hours (Venise par temps gris and An Interior in Venice), Paris and the Salon (the painting of Carolus-Duran at whose atelier he studied), and the Madame Gautreau debacle (the painting Madame X).It continues with Sargent reinventing himself in England with the painting Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, which was a success when exhibited at the Royal Academy, London.It follows with portraiture--many Victorian characters such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Henry James, and "a gallery of Edwardian personalities."Later chapters include the Murals at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Boston Public Library (definitive works as an artist), and Sargent the Watercolourist, especially Venetian watercolors (perpetual architecture, perpetual fluidity).
Sargent's art is a unique blend of realism and impressionism."His pictures do not dissolve into skeins of color like those of Monet or Renoir because his instinct for defining forms and constructing spaces is too ingrained."For anyone who wants to see as Sargent sees, this is the book to have.Next best thing to viewing the exhibit.

Great content, not so great reproductions.
First off, you will never be satisfied with any reproduction compared to the original painting. Sargent's paintings in the MFA in Boston looks like the paint was laid yesterday. But I have seen several reproductions of this work, the originals in the MFA and MOMA in NY, and of all the major books I have seen, this has the most disappointing reproductions. The colors seem muted and flat.
On the other hand, the information on each painting is great, and for specific info on his works in a one volume set, this can't be beat.

This is the best Sargent book so far
I have no idea what the others are complaining about. I compared this Sargent book side by side at a book store with other published Sargent books, and this one had the best reproduction by far. It is even better than "John Singer Sargent : The Early Portraits (The Complete Paintings , Vol 1)", which is by the same author and editor as this one. Make no mistake, this is the best book so far I've seen on Sargent. I'm not concerned about the writing since I'm a fan of Sargent because I'm a painter, and he's one of the best there ever was. Sure I'd read the text, but it's not nearly as important as the reproductions of his paintings. It's all about the paintings, and he is an artist. That's all that matters. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (7)

J S Sargent: Venetian Figures & Landscapes
Beautifully done.Not quite sure why "Figures" comes first."Landscapes" make up the bulk of the book.

Disappointing
I was disappointed in this book.The images are nearly all watercolors and certainly not among Sargent's best.Way overpriced for the content.I would really only rate this 3.5 stars.

Excellent watercolor reference of J.S> Sargent's work.
This book is a must for any watercolorist or John Singer Sargent fan. It is well written and organized. I have thoroughly enjoyed this reference.
Cheryl Lankhaar

Those amazing watercolors
Still three more volumes to go...
This volume of Singer-Sargents complete paintings presents his wonderful venetian watercolor-paintings (and most of his oil-paintings of Venice) , and like all the other volumes in this series (eight volumes are planned, as far as I know) it gets my highest possible recommendation.
The accompanying text is astonishingly well researched and the reproduction of the images leaves nothing to complain about.
If you are seriously interested in collecting Singer-Sargent, then you don't need to look no further than this wonderful series of books, edited and written by Richard Ormond & Elaine Kilmurray.
Can we now get Volume V and the rest, please...?

Sargent: Vol. VI
I am very pleased with the team that put together this magnificent series, they've done a very thorough job. Sargent has been my idol for many years, the reproductions are inspiring, what a productive life he had! So many hits, so very few flops. ... Read more

Product Description
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) stands among the greatestof watercolor painters, along with J.M.W. Turner, Winslow Homer, andother masters of this difficult medium. Watercolor was more than adistraction from the portrait and mural commissions Sargent laboredover; after 1900, watercolor became central to his artisticvision. His aquarelles are, simply stated, masterworks. Portraits,interiors, landscapes, architectural studies--Sargent's work inwatercolor offers great variety of subject matter, ranging from Arabgypsies to World War I soldiers, to masterful depictions of Venetianchurches, to Florida swamp alligators.

Sargent carried his watercolors on his travels; they were ideallysuited to capturing the scene, the light, the air, wherever he foundhimself. This book serves as a record of his travels, featuring thepaintings he produced in Palestine, Northern Africa, the CanadianRockies, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, and Greece. Among specific localeswere the islands of Majorca and Corfu; Florence, Venice, Carrara, LakeGarda, and Rome; the Alps; Lake O'Hara; the coast of Maine and theMiami River.

Sargent's bold and often experimental use of the medium, whichsometimes led to semi- abstract images, compels admiration amongcontemporary painters as well as museum goers today. In addition toplacing Sargent's accomplishments in the context of his life and time,Carl Little discusses the artist's extraordinary watercolor technique. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Excellent as both a collection or your painting reference
Compare to John Singer Sargent's oil painting, his watercolor master pieces shows other side of this Master's talent full with free spirit. The book contains many high quality pieces that are excellent for someone who wants to learn the watercolor painting from a super master. There are pieces in this book that representing an old technique of combining watercolor with gouache, which is seldom used today and considered out of trend because gouache is opaque. However, the way he used in his paintings showed his truly masterful control of transparency with both materials, and extended both of their advantages to the best.
It is also a great piece to add to your art book collections, especially if you love his oil paintings, too.

The Watercolors of John Singer Sargent
I got this book used from Amazon and it's in excellent shape.It's amazing to see what he painted in water color.The only thing missing is a "how to" chapter.

just a comment I read
I was flipping through a How to ... Watercolor book the other day. The author said to look at Sargent's watercolors every night before you go to sleep.There.Now I've justified you buying the book.

Good review of a master watercolorist
My copy is an oversize paperback of about 160 pages. Reproductions of paintings inside are typically page-size and out weigh the text content almost ten to one. It is very much a visual document. The reproductions are, if not excellent, at least decent / good. (Nothing can match viewing a Sargent painting in person. The real colors are still subtle yet just magnificent.)
By chapters, if you will, the book is organized into about ten short ones. Hard to say more precisely. The first is biographical. A few are housekeeping: bibliography and the like. The rest, some nine units are by topic painted, mostly by region, e.g. "in the Mountains" or "Florida". The former unit contains "Mountain Stream", perhaps my most favorite watercolor of all.
Why did I buy this book? (Actually, two copies?) I think I have all of the images in at least one other book. There are other essays published about Sargent and about his watercolors, some of them quite brilliant. I've seen better reproductions. It is not a "how-to-paint" book and one couldn't learn to paint out of a book anyway. (Although to new watercolorists that idea seems quite tempting. "If only I knew just what exact brushes Sargent used...")
Two reasons for buying come to mind: because I can afford the reasonable price and because the book simply is there. The book is there and it is another perspective / angle on Sargent and his watercolors. The scholars of Greek drama tell us that there are only ten (or pick your number) plots, yet still we watch television, read new books and attend movies. A thousand times more than ten. Likewise for me, a Sargent enthusiast, one all-definitive book on Sargent would still not suffice. I have to see each viewpoint / perspective myself. Insatiably. I read them all. Carl Little's book is a good one. And I surely know good from bad; I've bought and read many quickie Sargent books with lousy reproductions trotted out just before the holiday season. This in not one of those; this is the real, quality thing. A very nice book with good if very limited text and plenty of decent reproductions. I'm glad I bought it. That is, bought them. :)

Excellent!
I was looking for a Sargent book exclusively dedicated to his watercolours. I think the Carl Little book is the best one. The book is very manageable (I prefer the paperback as I use it a lot around the house as well as for reference). The size makes it also very usable, rather than having the large, heavy, coffee table editions which I find difficult to hold. The content is spot on for me; I'm after the images with a little written background to Sargent's life; this is very well presented in Little's book. The quality of the spine lacks a bit, but then again, I make sure I get out as much juice out of this book as possible! ... Read more

Product Description
American Drawings and Watercolors in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: John Singer SargentStephanie L. Herdrich and H. Barbara Weinberg, with an essay by Marjorie ShelleyThis lovely book celebrates the unparalleled collection of works by John Singer Sargent at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The volume describes The Metropolitan's acquisition of Sargent's works, including the particularly fine collection of his drawings and watercolors, and organizes his work into four sections: childhood and adolescence, student years in Paris and early career, professional accomplishments from 1890 to 1925, and studies made during extensive travels from 1890 to 1925.Amazon.com Review
An expatriate American living in England, John Singer Sargent was an immensely gifted artist and the leading international portraitist of his day. He produced his magnificent oil paintings of the social elite after lengthy preparations that included numerous studies and sketches. American Drawings and Watercolors in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: John Singer Sargent presents the Met's collection of four sketchbooks and 337 single sheets by Sargent, from rough to highly finished designs. Many of the watercolors and a handful of the drawings are brilliant, but they are lesser works than the great paintings; this book is an important art-historical study rather than an art book.

Two introductory essays describe the formation of the collection and the artist's techniques. The material is divided into four sections covering Sargent's childhood, early career, professional activity, and travel, each introduced by details of the artist's life. The drawings provide useful contexts for his major paintings. For example, intimate sketches of Madame Gautreau, the sitter for his portrait Madame X, whose scandalously low shoulder strap led to the closing of Sargent's Paris studio, clarify the narrative that precedes the section "Student Years and Early Career, 1874-89." Watercolors from his visit to the frontlines during World War I include naked soldiers bathing; these and other material have led to speculation about Sargent's sexual orientation, which is beginning to attract critical analysis. The complex material is extensively and intelligently footnoted, and a chronology of Sargent's life, exhibitions, and a bibliography round out the book's encyclopedic scholarship. The first of a series documenting the Met's collections of master-drawings, this book is a treasure-trove and an art historian's delight. --John Stevenson ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Sargent Treasury
First... some disclosure. I am a "card-carrying" admirer of John Singer Sargent and of all of his work. I have more than fifty books on Sargent. And I am an obsessive amateur watercolorist; half of our home is filled with paintings, paintings in progress and painting supplies. But, a little rational mitigation... I am not monomaniacal. I also deeply appreciate the work of other greats such as John Whorf and Winslow Homer. And today's Trevor Chamberlain, John Yardley, David Curtis, etc. So, if you like this kind of work, then you'll love this book.

Love it even without any fancy academic theory, art history or the like. Like me, you can just look at a reproduction of an alpine brook in watercolor by Sargent and simply say, "Wow!" And pass your eyes over every millimeter. "Look how he suggests those rocks and ferns!" But then I also greatly enjoy reading the textual background. Where it was done. In what context. Sargent's visits and vacations. The work's provenance. This last can be facinating as in the case of Sargent's recently surfaced, fabulous and obviously originally "mis-acquired" by a maid, "Spanish Dancer". Why, if my own work was any good and further if I did employ a maid then I'd be very careful to... :)
Well, obviously I can speak only as a naive Sargent enthusiast, but I can't recommend this book more. I read it over and over. I'd have paid twice the price.

Approximately 11 & 1/2 by 9 inches and 426 pages. Published by the Metropolitan in 2000. An excellent physical production in the usual quality manner of Yale University Press, lately the source of excellent series on artists. (Here, Sargent but also the likes of William Merritt Chase. Yale was a physical partner in this particular Sargent enterprise.) This book is organized roughly chronologically, from Sargent's youth onwards. However, there's much more; an Essay on Materials and Techniques, a Sargent Chronology, an Exhibition History, a Record of Travel and Other Studies, and an appendix, Works of Questionable Attribution.

Finally, for some, the category "drawing" can be confusing, as is evident here it also includes watercolors. Go figure. But, I don't mind the nomenclature as long as the academics provide me with pretty decent reproductions and an interesting history.
... Read more

Product Description
Sargents reputation is often defined by his remarkable achievements as a painter of sophisticated society portraits. However, as this innovative examination of his career reveals, he created a significant number of childrens portraits and genre paintings featuring children.

The title of the book makes ironic reference to Charles Dickenss famous novel Great Expectations, and is used hereto suggest how Sargents paintings of children related to the expectations associated with representations of childhood in the art and literature of Sargents day. The book also traces how Sargent ultimately advanced childhood as an artistic subject.

The book contains five essays by three notable curators and professors of fine arts, is illustrated with Sargents truly stunning and often lesser-known paintings of children, and includes Sargent family photographs, some of which are previously unpublished. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

John Really Knows His Craft
He has drawn and painted children since his teens.I liked how he painted his youngest sister Violet from the time she was born in 1870 until her marriage to Mr. Ormond.His paintings of children are diverse, from the kids from the Lily Carnation picture, to the upper class work study of the Boit children, to the teenage picture of Rosina nestled on a tree limb in Capri.

He really showed his craft in painting the diverse pictures of children.He may not have had children, but his interest in them were very sincere and touching.

Sargent Book
The book of children's paintings by Sargent is sold in many book stores. An excellent book, its list price is $60. Amazon lists it at nearly 50% less. Thus, the sale was not so much for a superior product, as for a far cheaper price. ... Read more

Product Description
This sumptuous book is the third volume of the definitive catalogue raisonnŽ of the work of the American painter John Singer Sargent (1856-1925). Comprising over two hundred portraits and portrait sketches in oil and watercolor painted between 1900 and the artist's death in 1925, this book completes the trilogy of portrait volumes.The catalogued works have been grouped into two chronological sections, each with an introduction that sets the particular group in context. There is also a section of undated portraits and an appendix listing previously unrecorded works. Each work is documented in depth: entries include traditional data about the painting or watercolor; details of the work's provenance, exhibition history, and bibliography; a short biography of the sitter; a discussion of the circumstances in which the work was created; and a critical discussion of its subject matter, style, and significance in Sargent's career. Most of the works are reproduced in color. There is also an illustrated inventory of Sargent's studio props and accessories and a cross-referenced checklist of the portraits in which they appear. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Beautiful Volume
This volume came in perfect shape and is truly a treasure of John Singer Sargent's portraits. I am fully satisfied with the book and the speed at which it came.

Sargent Review
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R38WCIGU2T4K2H I've recently bought the first two volumes and won't be buying the 3rd.Like one reviewer Heather before me said, most of the pictures are only a quarter to half the size of the page with text next to them.There are some full page color plates, just not enough in comparison to the smaller ones.The binding of the book is not bad at all, it seems sturdy.Again, my only complaint is not enough full page color plates.

Here's a webcam video I've created on the first volume in which the layouts of the color plates are the same for all 3 volumes.

An alternative suggestion..........
As a painter, I love these sargent books and I would like to offer an alternative to the usual art book. Due to the large amount of print that goes into these books, the size of the pictures is often diminished. Why not publish a portfolio of the art work alone and a companion volume of the print portion. I really don't need to know that I'm looking at a model in a blue dress wearing pearls; I can see that. What I want is to study the image in detail which is hard to do when you reduce a painting that was originally, say, 5'x3' into a 1"x2" image on the page. This is already being done by one company that puts out 19th century art on cd. I can now print out any painting on the cd for a total price of $20 plus ink and paper. 21st century solutions for 21st century people!

good for an art historian, not so much for a painter
first, i'm a painter myself, and a huge fan of sargent's work. in this book, however, the image quality isn't bad, and the color is close to accurate, but some of the luminoscity in color and contrast are lost. most of the images appear washed out and dull. the portrait on page 577 is a HORRIBLE photo. the art institute of chicago owns this painting, and having been a student there, i've spent hours studying this piece in person. the color os horribly grayed out in the photo, a lot of detail is lost, the painting appears to be a mess of paint rather than precisely carved out shapes (which is what made sargent so excellent). this is a landscape, but it doesn't seem to be painted outside in the photo! this is one of sargents greatest pieces, in my opinion, and the photo of the painting was completely butchered.

most other photos aren't this bad, but you must keep in mind that most of the paintings in this book are printed only half or a quarter of the page. everything just appears so shrunken, you can't observe the detail.

that being said, if you are a huge fan of sargent, an art historian, or for any other reason you want at your hand every single piece he's done, this would be a necessary addition. it's not a complete waste of money, i just don't think it is worth more than $25 or so. though, it IS the only book like this published thus far.

also, upon my first flip-through of the book, once i got to the last page, i realized my last page tore from the cover & the binding is exposed. i ordered this book brand new from amazon, so even though i can easily re-glue the binding together, it makes me feel the quality of this book is actually very low and cheap.

unfortunately, i spent an additional $100 on the other two volumes to this collection, and they have yet to arrive. hopefully they won't be as disappointing as this one.

Excellent series
I can't say enough about this entire series of books. It is the most comprehensive Sargent collection in the world, and a must for any Sargent fans. Every single volume is filled to the brim with his work and details about his life and his artwork. It also does not skimp on quality--the whole thing is printed in color (which was a relief, because I can't stand b/w printing of colored material--it's a crime in my opinion). ... Read more

Product Description
This magnificent book is the first volume of the definitive catalogue raisonn_ of the works in oil, watercolor, and pastel of the beloved painter John Singer Sargent. This volume catalogues portraits by Sargent from 1874, when he began his training in Paris, and covers pictures painted while he was establishing his reputation in Paris, during his early years in England, and on his first professional visit to America in 1887. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Good book on Sargent's early works
I actually expected to see some of his work before he became a professional painter. For me it is always interesting to see the paintings and drawings of these great masters - before they were. Unfortunately, there is no evidence in the book of the early early portraits.

Stunningand georgeous book . . .
By all means, buy this book! This is one of the most engrossing art books that I have come across. Each reproduction has crystalline clarity and the accompanying information makes for very interesting reading. You find yourself really interested in all the people depicted.
This is an excellent combination of art and text, without the book becoming a glorified textbook, but still being useful for research. I purchased the book mainly for the art and I am not disappointed! It's not one of those 'trick' art books that promise lush full color reproductions and actually consist of mostly black and white images. The only black and white included here depicts paintings that are lost. If you love J. S. Sargent's work, this is a great introduction to his earlier work and he only gets better!

Singular Singer Sargent
This book is such a treasure, it is such a wonderful tribute to an American icon.The pictures are just amazing and the text highly informative.It is truly an amazing compelation of his early work.It is the first in a series of three and they are all consistantly good.If you are a fan of Sargent you will definitely what to possess all three.I highly recommend this book to anyone with an appreciation of great art from a one of the masters.

Just Amazing........
This book is for Sargent lovers. His incredible talent oozes in these pages. I can't wait for Vol 2 of this beautiful production of Yale University Press. I got me a magnifying glass and have spent hours looking at the unbelievably grand flesh tones that Sargent commanded. You'll love reading the background data of these portrait commissions during Sargent's career. I would give it six stars if I could. See it to believe it.....if I could only paint like he did or anything barely close. One of my best of collection. Hurry up Yale and give us Vol 2.

i can't wait for vol 2!
i bought this book after seeing the sargent show at the met in new york. i have been studing it ever since. mr ormand, ms. kilmurray please hurry. you have brought the works of this great american master to life as no one has done before and i look forward in anticipation to vol 2. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (14)

If you like J. S. Sargent you wil love this book!
Fantastic!
Lots of pictures on very high quality paper.
His studies for some pictures are included as well as where he was living and how that influenced his work!

Little too long for my tastes.
Ok so the title says 'complete paintings' which is somewhat misleading. The whole volume series maybe his complete paintings, but this (final) volume of the series is not. This book goes into incredible detail (446 pages ...for just one volume!). It covers his travels, correspondence, similar and influential works by other artists, and EACH of his work's provenance listed in absolute detail. The images are high quality and it even nicely provides lighter versions of some very dark works and one x-rayed work! My biggest impression was how sick of a drawer Sargent was ...he could have been famous on his drawings alone!

John Singer Sargent: Figures and Landscapes, 1874 - 1882.

An outstanding and thoroughly documented compilation. The photographic reproductions are very faithful.The page quality is excellent and the book is well bound.

One of the best
Excellent!The photos of the work are some of the best I've seen.I'm really enjoying the stories of the provenance.Highly recommended for Sargent fans.

Sargent
Sargent excelled in all media and this book, the third in a series, clearly shows why he was the best of late 19th century American artists. Many of his paintings have become icons of American art, and here they are shown in the context of his life and artistic development. The color reproductions are superb and the book offers many hours of repeat perusal.
... Read more

Product Description
This gorgeous book is the second volume of the definitive catalogue raisonné of the work of the American painter John Singer Sargent (1856-1925).It comprises over onehundred and fifty formal portraits and portrait sketches in oil and watercolor that he painted between 1889 and 1900.The catalogued works have been grouped into chronological sections, each with its own introduction to set the particular group in context.In addition, an overall introduction places Sargent in the context of European portraiture of the past and of his own time.

Each work is documented in depth: entries include traditional data about the painting or watercolor; details of the work's provenance, exhibition history and bibliography; a short biography of the sitter; a discussion of the circumstances in which the work was created; and a critical discussion of its subject matter, style, and significance in Sargent's career.With very few exceptions, all the works are reproduced in color.There is also an illustrated inventory of Sargent's studio props and accessories and a cross-referenced checklist of the portraits in which they appear. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Very beautiful, it's Sargent!
I think we cannot be deceived by a book on Sargent.This is a so so good painter!This book is packed with beautiful big well chosen pictures and great text on Sargent's work. I was really happy to have this one!

the whole series
complete and lots of colour pics. good price: at the sargent exhibition in paris more than twice as expensive! very happy with my purchase.

Another excellent book in the series
I own the entire series, and I wouldn't part with any one of them. For Sargent fans, this series is a dream come true. I hope they would publish some "poster books" with large reproductions eventually, as that would really complete the series.

Singer Sargent
This is the second in a series of three and it is just as quality as the other two.I read the review of the reader who was disappointed in this book and thus did not order the other two with shear amazement.I really recommend that she look at another copy, all I can figure is that she got a poor copy, which unfortunitely does happen even at the best publishing houses.I am highly discriminatory about poor quality pictures and overall book quality and I can assure you this book is top shelf.I highly recommend it to anyone who has an appreciation for great portrature.

Good book, not so good reproductions
I have purchased "Portraits of the 1890s" primarily for the images and I have to say that I am dissapointed. Sargent definitely deserves a monograph with better reproductions. I lost my initial desire to order remaining two books in this series (fortunately, I haven't ordered all three as I intended).

The reproductions never do justice to the originals, but this is too much. The lighter colors are washed out (for instance, one of Sargent's most famous works - portrait of Lady Agnew) and many reproductions have yellowish or reddish cast. There are even images (as in case of portrait of Helen Sears) who are washed out and, in addition, have a yellowish cast.

The values on some other reproductions (portrait of W. Graham Robertson, for instance) are compressed to the point of absurd.
There are lot of preparatory sketches and drawings in this book, but they are very small - barely larger than a postage stamps. If you're interested in that part of Sargent's oeuvre, I can recommend Dover's book "Sargent Portrait Drawings".
For truth's sake, I have to say that not all reproductions in this book are bad - half of them are tolerable (I didn't see any who is superb, though).
Being both - a painter and art history professor my standards on this particular issue may be a bit higher than those of the non artists but, generally speaking, I just don't see the point of printing poor quality reproductions in an artbook or monograph. ... Read more

Product Description
"Mr. Sargent would look fiercely at me and then make big wide strokes over the canvas with a piece of charcoal. I tried holding my breath so as not to move."

Young Kate Millet is the model for the painting John Singer Sargent is working on in her parents' garden. Everyone says she is posing so well, even though she finds it very hard to stand still. Then one of her father's friends arrives with his two daughters. They're older, taller and have lighter hair than Kate. Sargent decides to use them instead. Kate is devastated.

Based on numerous letters and recollections from the period, Hugh Brewster's story describes Kate's disappointment, the many difficulties experienced by the painter through the long artistic process, Kate's reconciliation with him and how she is immortalized on canvas after all.

Illustrated with over thirty-five of Sargent's paintings and sketches, Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose recreates the 1880s milieu of the famed American painter during an extended trip to England, and the thoughts and days of a girl who was there alongside him. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose:The Story of a Painting
This book is a treasure! For children, and adults too, it's a charming, authentic view into the world of John Singer Sargent: the artistic genius. (Sargent's work inspires me, as an artist, on a daily basis.) Hugh Brewster has succeeded in making the story natural and real...the voice of young Kate is convincing. Beautifully designed by Gordon Sibley, it is a perfect gift book for art lovers of all ages. As an illustrator, I have had the pleasure of working with both Hugh and Gord on a number of books for children, including the award-winning 'Polar The Titanic Bear', and more recently 'African Princess'. Congratulations on creating another winner!

Magical -a great read for little girls
The book is well written and magical. It is now my daughter's favourite book and it has become one of her " must-read" before bed. The storyline is interesting and well thought out.What a great way to introduce our young generation to art and history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not for adults
This book is for children, not adults.I had to return it to bookseller.

Something about Sargent for children
A nicely made, 46 page, hardbound book of the life of Sargent. About eight inches by nine inches. Roughly the size of the Golden Books of your childhood only better and certainly sturdier. Aimed at children. Surprisingly pleasing color reproductions, although several images are inexplicably only in B&W, including the watercolor "Bedouins", the original being a masterpiece in blues, blues, and blues.
Besides the nice images, there's an entertaining and informative text. One learns that Madame Gautreau's mom was not happy with the reception of her daughter's portrait and why she was not happy, if only roughly. After all, this is a book aimed at children. So there's also no speculation about Sargent's putative orientations nor any mention of "Dr Pozzi at Home" (image in the book) as the inventor of the bimanual pelvic exam for women. In that bright red dressing gown, I would surely hope that he is at home and not at work. Nor is it revealed that later Dr. Pozzi was shot in his medical office by an irate husband. Nope, this is a book absolutely safe for children, yet still a good children's introduction to Sargent and his work. After all, in fact very little of Sargent's is remotely racy, or as the book puts it, risque.
I think it should be paired with something about how paintings are made. Maybe one of those inexpensive instruction kits / book about using watercolors. This would give a child a feel for creating images a well as admiring the great ones.
Worthwhile for children. ... Read more

Product Description
• A page-turner about growing up and facing hidden fears
• Sargent, an American painter, is a favorite in schools
• Featured painting is located in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston—great field trip tie-in!

Everyone who looks at The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, the grand-scale painting by John Singer Sargent that hangs in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, is drawn into its mysteries. Who are these four girls, dressed in prim pinafores? Why is the composition so far off balance? Why are two of the girls cloaked so completely in shadows that their "portraits" are little more than ghostly ciphers? Author Douglas Rees explores the complexities of this masterpiece with a psychological thriller that lets Sargent himself tell the story behind the canvas. When one of the girls scratches the words "HELP US" on a scrap of drawing paper, Sargent realizes that he alone has the power to save them. Will the great portraitist paint the girls as they appear—or will he show the reality of their dark, mysterious lives? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Courtesy of Teens Read Too
THE JANUS GATE is a very different type of story. Part of the ART ENCOUNTERS series published by Watson-Guptill, it is at times a biographical sketch, a historical treatise, and a Victorian gothic story of the supernatural. THE JANUS GATE is a fictionalized account based on artist John Singer Sargent and, most specifically, his painting entitled The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit.

In 1882, Sargent painted the Boit daughters - Florence, Jane, Mary, and Julia - along with Julia's very large, very ugly doll, P-Paul, or Popau. Mr. Sargent met the Boit family during Varnishing Day at the Palais d'Industrie in Paris, where he found himself explaining the meaning of a painting entitled The Janus Gate to Edward Boit and his daughters. When the young girls beg to be painted by Mr. Sargent, he eagerly seals the deal; a deal that, later, he will come to regret.

If you've never seen a picture of The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, you'll be surprised to learn that it is not a happy painting. The two eldest Boit daughters hide in shadow, one looks angelic yet defiant, and the youngest, with the grotesque doll, beseeches the artist with her large eyes.

There has been, and probably always will be, controversy over this portrait done early in John Singer Sargent's career. How can this rightfully be called a portrait when two of the girls aren't even clearly pictured? Why is the doll in the painting at all? What did Mr. Sargent really see when he looked at the Boit girls?

There is truth in the saying that life imitates art. Florence and Jane, the two oldest sisters who hid in shadow in their portrait, later went crazy. Popau, Julia's doll, had a major role in leading Mr. Sargent to the brink of his own Janus Gate. Although we'll never know exactly what the artist was thinking while painting this portrait, we can know that it probably wasn't at all pleasant.

Douglas Rees has done a marvelous job of bringing art to life with THE JANUS GATE. At once a fictionalized account of a historical event and an eerie Gothic thriller, art history buffs and fans of historical fiction will all enjoy this look into the life of John Singer Sargent.

Reviewed by:Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

Another turn of the screw!
This book certainly is for everyone!It's a brilliant combination of ghostly mystery and paean to the power of art.When I finished it, I didn't know whether to re-read it or start looking for John Singer Sargent prints.
In a scant 176 pages Rees has created pictures and voices as indelible as Sargent's paintings.Rather that the stereotyped, cardboard characters of too many mysteries (and young adult books), Rees' characters stand out and remain long after the book is fnished.Each of the Boit girls is a jewel; even the sinister doll Popau is as sharply etched as a Goya drawing.What a wonderful introduction to a too-often-ignored artist. ... Read more

Product Description
John Singer Sargent was one of the most brilliant portrait painters of his age. He enjoyed success painting famous beauties, celebrities and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic. This book presents an interpretation of Sargent and his art. ... Read more