From:
Wonsug Jung
10/23/99
Hi, Nat.
I have found in
your thumbnail gallery
page 1, 'Oyster Gatherers of Cancale' is wrongly referred to as a
collection
of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC.
But this image is
a sketch version
(you can tell it quickly by the hair color of the boy on the right
side)
and belongs to the MFA.
From: Natasha
10/23/99
Thanks Wonsug. I
myself had noticed
a discrepancy and that there are two paintings of this, but I didn't
know
the other was at the BMFA. I always have seen the one at the Corcoran
Gallery
in books. You say this is a sketch? but it looks like a full finished
version
to me, at least in the image here. It's interesting to note the people
in the background frame right are different as well between the two
pictures.
So if this is the
Sketch version,
when was it painted and what's its size, do you know?
The fun thing
about this is there
are a million tiny little questions like this.
From: Wonsug
Jung
10/23/99
Dear Natasha,
I think I might
have used the word
'sketch' too roughly, and it really looks like a full finished
painting,
but both Ratcliff's book and the retrospective catalogue refers to it
as
a sketch.
It was painted in
the same year as
the final version, and in the catalogue it is entitled 'Fishing for
Oysters
at Cancale', the size of which is 41 x 61 cm(16 1/8 x 24 in). In
Ratcliff's
book its title is the same with the final version and I don't remember
what it was entitled in the BMFA where it hangs.
There is also a
discrepancy regarding
the size of the Washington's version between Ratcliff's and the
catalogue.
(31 x 48 1/2 vs 38 1/8 x 48 1/2)
From: Natasha
11/4/99
Calling it a
"'sketch' or a "study"
would be appropriate and I think the size of the paintings is the most
telling here. This painting is much smaller than the final version
(96.8
x 123.2 cm (31 1/8 x 48 1/2 in.). I have seen Sargent do oil "sketches"
before with other major paintings in the early years. At the Nelson
Atkins
Art Gallery in Kansas City, there is a smaller "study" of Spanish
Dance
(1883) (n/a) and it is appropriately titled Spanish Dance study
(1883) (n/a).
Regarding
Ratcliff's book. It's a
wonderful book at getting an overview of Sargent's life and work but I
am finding countless little inaccuracies that aren't that significant
for
the "big picture" but still don't jive with most "established"
writings.
If there is any discrepancy with anything, I think you should hold the
Ratcliff book as suspect.
From: Jay
Carlson
son
_ of _carl62@yahoo.com
1/13/00
(paraphrased)
Just how many oil
paintings of oyster
gatherers are there and where can I find color photos of them? I know
he
had done a few oil sketches and I have seen them some where but cannot
remember where.
From: Natasha
1/13/00
That's a good
question, but I only
remember seeing this one and the finished painting which makes a total
of two oils and only one oil-sketch. You might try Carter Ratcliff's
book,
look under Books.
From: Jay
Carlson
op. cit.
1/14/00
Thank
you very much for replying so quickly. The sketches I am talking
about are for instance, a woman standing alone. I have seen some of
these
but cannot remember where. If you don't know thats fine.
[Thumbnail and
image added later]
From: Natasha
1/14/00
So I wonder are
those close-ups of
this study or are they separate studies -- anyone?
From: Wonsug
Jung
1/15/00
Regarding Jay
Carlson's question,
Ratcliff's book has three B/W plates of figure study for the Oyster
Gatherers
of Cancale. Two are female studies and one is male study, and they are
in Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois. As far as I know,
Ratcliff's is the only book which contains these plates, I haven't
checked
Fairbrother's yet, though. Richard Ormond's book published in 1970 has
plate of another oil study of the whole scene (8 3/4 X 11 1/2 inches
and
whose location is unknown).
He also comments
about an oil study
for one of the oyster gatherers, which was in the collection of Ralph
Curtis'
and reproduced in Art Quarterly, XX(1957), 307, fig. 7, where it is
incorrectly
identified, and a pencil study of another figure which is in the Fogg
Art
Museum (1931-87-b).
Here is a quote
from Retrospective
catalogue written by Carol Troyen:
'Sargent
prepared for his
Salon entry in the academically sanctioned manner, engaging models and
making a number of studies of single figures (Harvard University Art
Museums,
Terra Museum of American Art) before settling on the final arrangement
as represented in Boston's version.'
Subject: Another
copy of the Oyster
Gatherers?
From: "Keith"
Date: 4-14-01
(goto
page)
oyster gatherers
of cancale/ john
singer sargent
Subject: Yet
Another copy
From: Alan
Gonzalez
<Alan 16
felt@aol.com>
Date: Wed, 27 Feb
2002
Hello Natasha
I recently bought a
copy of the
above mentioned painting at a charity event, here in the UK. I always
thought
it was a copy, because the original is at the Corcoran Gallery of Arts
Boston. But having read your email replies it appears that there may be
other originals still around. My picture is an oil on canvas, and is
signed
John S Sargent, should I take it to an expert?
Alan
Gonzalez
From: Natasha
Date Fri, 1 Mar 2002
Dear Alan,
Apparently there
are literally scads
of these paintings (Oyster Gatherers of Cancale by John Singer Sargent)
floating around out there. Most are just copies done by other painters
(see Copyists
at the Prado). Very few (let's recap: there is this one at the
Museum
of Fine Arts Boston, the one at the Corcoran Gallery; then the one that
is mentioned in Richard Ormond's 1970 book -- location unknown, and
finally
the one that was owned by Ralph Curtis for full copies) if but only
four
(that I know of) are REALLY by John Singer Sargent. Out of all the
paintings
at my site, Oyster Gatherers continues to be the most asked about
painting
regarding additional copies.
I always refer
people to my response
to "Keith"
Sure there is a
possibility that
yours is another copy by the REAL John Singer Sargent. I really don't
know
enough to say.
About a year ago
I received a letter
from a gentleman wondering whether Sargent might have used the painting
as a model for the Royal Academy schools and he was wondering about the
possibility that students might have painted it, or copied it, in one
of
their classes. I wish I had saved the letter because it raises an
interesting
possibility; and it needs to be investigated.
Since you are in
the UK why don't
you look into this for us. Why don't you contact the Royal Academy and
see if you can do some digging on what they know about Sargent teaching
there.
Hope to hear back
from you.
Natasha
From: From:
Alan Gonzalez
Alan 16 felt@aol.com
Date: Fri, 1 Mar
2002 16:04:02 EST
Thank you for
your very informative
reply, . . I wasn't aware that John Sargent had studied at
The Royal Academy here
in the UK., I will certainly get in touch with them to verify if, at
least,
he used this particular painting to train his students. I will send you
my findings in the near future.
Many Thanks
Sincerely
Alan
From: Natasha
Date Fri, 1 Mar 2002
Sargent wasn't a
student at the Royal
Academy, he was an instructor (that's why he might have used his
painting
as a model). After his election to Associate of the Royal Academy (ARA)
in 1894, he taught one month every winter. I'm not exactly sure how
long
that lasted but he was still teaching in 1907 (don't know if those 13
years
were without interruption or if he taught beyond 1907), and he would
drop
in to the schools often.
Welcome aboard
the communal search
all my best
Natasha
