John Singer Sargent: Figures and Landscapes 1908-1913: The Complete Paintings, Volume VIII

by Richard Ormond, Elaine Kilmurray

Overview

The penultimate volume of the acclaimed catalogue raisonné showcases paintings of some of Sargent’s favorite places and people

After John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) determined to curtail his internationally successful portrait practice, he had more freedom to paint where and what he wanted.  Volume VIII of the John Singer Sargent catalogue raisonné transports us to the artist’s most beloved locations, often with his friends and family.  In the paintings featured here, Sargent returned to subjects that had always held deep personal connections and artistic challenges: mountains, streams, rocks and torrents, figures in repose, architecture and gardens, boats and shipping.  He had known and painted the Alps since childhood, and his new Alpine studies make up the greatest number of works in this book.
 
Beautifully designed, this volume represents a continuation in organization and presentation of the high standards that mark the series, and documents 299 works in oil and watercolor. Each painting is catalogued with full provenance, exhibition history, and bibliography. Wherever possible, works are illustrated in color; some are accompanied by related drawings and comparative studies by Sargent’s fellow artists. Contemporary photographs pinpoint the places and views that Sargent painted.


Published in association with the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300177367
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	10/07/2014
Series:	The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
Pages:	424
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 12.50(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Richard Ormond is a Sargent scholar and an independent art historian; he is the artist's great-nephew. He was formerly deputy director of the National Portrait Gallery, London, and director of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.  Elaine Kilmurray is a co-author and the research director of the John Singer Sargent catalogue raisonné. 

Editorial Reviews

"Perhaps the most beautiful and arguably the most important [volume] published thus far . . . The Sargent catalogue raisonné [is] a wonderful project aesthetically, academically, and historically."—Joshua Rose, American Fine Art

From the Publisher

“Perhaps the most beautiful and arguably the most important [volume] published thus far . . . The Sargent catalogue raisonné [is] a wonderful project aesthetically, academically, and historically.”—Joshua Rose, American Fine Art

American Fine Art - Joshua Rose

11/01/2014
This eighth volume of a catalog raisonée of artist John Singer Sargent's (1856–1925) prolific output focuses on paintings, both in oil and watercolor, of figures and landscapes from 1908 to 1913. After a stint as a favored society portrait painter, the artist headed to Europe. This volume by Ormond, a Sargent scholar and independent art historian, and Kilmurray (research director, John Singer Sargent catalog raisonnée) is organized into seven chapters covering the locations Sargent visited, in chronological order beginning with Majorca in 1908 and concluding with "England and Elsewhere, 1908–1913," a miscellany. Each chapter highlights his experience in that place, including summaries of the technique, materials, scenery, figures, architectural renderings, etc. depicted in the full-color illustrations that follow. These examples show the fluidity and virtuosity of the brushstrokes that, although representational, have abstract and impressionist elements. As is standard in a catalog raisonée, each work includes the item's title, materials, dimensions, and provenance, in addition to a descriptive summary of the painting, one page for each work. A special touch is that the book includes some photographs of the subject matter painted by Sargent alongside the actual paintings. VERDICT This beautifully produced volume includes 299 color illustrations and documents Sargent's travels and the development of his mastery as a painter of a variety of subjects other than portraits. Essential for most art book collections, which should consider purchasing the entire set.—Ellen Bates, New York

Library Journal