Frances
Sherborne Ridley
Watts
("Fanny" Watts)
John Singer Sargent --
American painter
1877
The
Philadelphia
Museum
of Art
Oil on canvas
105.7 x 83.5
cm ( 41 5/8
x 32 7/8 in.)
Gift of Mr.
and Mrs,
Wharton
Sinkler
Jpg: Local
"Fanny" Watts
(1858-1927)
was a childhood
friend of John's. Her parent's, as were John's, were all part of a
loosely
associated group of expatriate Americans living essentially permanently
in Europe, traveling from one city to another with the seasons and on a
whim. They would hit and miss each other at the various locals
throughout
the years. Where they found themselves together, they tended to
socially
gravitate together in an undeclared extended family and would loosely
keep
in touch with each other if they were separated to different places.
Fanny was in this
smaller
group of
children of these expatriates along with John, his sister Emily, Violet
Paget ("Vernon Lee") and
Ben
del Castillo.
The Watts found
themselves in Paris
the winter of 1877 and it became rather natural that John would use her
for this portrait. The painting was done under the tutelage of his
teacher
and probably, at least in part, at Carolus-Duran's atelier.
Notes:
Exhibitions
John Singer Sargent,
An Exhibition -- Whitney
Museum, NY & The Art Institute of Chicago 1986-1987
Sargent's
Women, Adelson Galleries, New York, 2003
|
