Art Institute of Chicago
Mrs. George Swinton (Elizabeth Ebsworth)
John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925)LinkedCulture matchlcp-d213789b5ca9
- Date
- 1897
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Culture
- London
- Department
- Arts of the Americas
- Institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Object ID
- 4749
John Singer Sargent’s portrayal of musician Elizabeth “Elsie” Swinton epitomizes the painterly virtuosity that made the artist one of the most fashionable portraitists in late 19th-century Europe and America. Extravagant color and brushwork were central to Sargent’s success, as was his ability to present a refined and appealing likeness. Here, he accentuated the sitter’s regal bearing and elaborate dress. At the time, Swinton was a celebrated amateur singer, and the following decade she began performing professionally. Sargent harmonized the realism of her face and body with bursts of impressionistic brushstrokes describing the shimmering, translucent fabric descending from her shoulder.
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Provenance & credit
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- Credit line
- Wirt D. Walker Collection
- Provenance
- Commissioned by Mrs. Henry Edward Ebsworth (the sitter's mother), 1897 (1) Llandough Castle, Cowbridge, Glamorgan, South Wales: (2) Gattonside House, Melrose, Roxburghshire, Scotland; (3) London, England; consigned by her to M. Knoedler & Co., London, England, and New York, 1915; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.
Linked open data
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- Object type
- AAT300033618
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