Portrait of Mrs. Harry Vane Milbank

John Singer Sargent's Portrait of Mrs. Harry Vane Milbank
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Portrait of Mrs. Harry Vane Milbank (nee Alice Sidonie Vandenburg) John Singer Sargent -- American painter 1883-1884 Private collection Oil on canvas 188.6 by 90.8cm (74 1/4 x 35 3/4 in.) Signed lower middle left of dress: To my friend /Albert Belleroche / John S. Sargent. Jpg: Art Renewal Center

From Sothebys
Quoting Elaine Kilmurray and Richard Ormond:

Mrs. Harry Vane Milbank, nee Alice Sidonie Vandenburg (d. 1916), daughter of Desire Baruch of Brussels, was a prominent soical figure on both sides of the Channel. Described by Mark Milbank in his history of the Milbank family (1966) as of 'almost legendary beauty,' she was painted by a number of artists including Carolus-Duran, Sargent and [her son] Albert de Belleroche. Her first marriage to Edmund Charles, Marquis de Belleroche, a gentleman of Huguenot ancestry settled in Swansea, was not happy and they separated. In 1871, she married Harry Vane Milbank, eldest son of Sir Frederick Milbank, Bart, and a celebrated duellist and adventurer."
(John Singer Sargent, The Early Portraits, p. 110-111)

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By all likelihood the painting was never a commission, but intended as a gift from Sargent of the mother of his fellow classmate at Carolus-Duran's atelier -- Albert de Belleroche (thumbnail). Kilmurray and Ormond date the work 1883-1884 around the time of Madame X and the complexities of Sargent's life during this time may explain why it never was finished. The arms and lower dress are only roughly sketched out and the painting sat in Sargent's studio for years. When John finally got around to gifting it, he dedicated it "To my friend / Albert Belleroche" a surname Albert wouldn't use until after 1894 when Albert turned 30 (Kilmurray and Ormond pp 97-98)

Supposedly, Sargent was intending to crop the painting under the dedication (the reason it's located so high compared to others) and a practice Sargent apparently did more than a few times (one of the more notable ones being Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose) but he was stopped by the pleadings from Albert.

Note:

Provenance:
Albert de Belleroche, 1923 (acquired directly from the artist)
Count William de Belleroche (his son), 1944
Private Collection, England, 1969

Literature:
David McKibbin, Sargent's Boston, with an Essay & a Biographical
Summary, Boston, Massachusetts, 1956, p. 84
Charles Merrill Mount, John Singer Sargent: A Biography, London, 1957, p. 339
Richard Ormond and Elaine Kilmurray, John Singer Sargent, The Early Portraits: Complete Paintings Vol. I, New Haven, Connecticut, 1998, no. 112, pp. 110-111, illustrated in color

Sale:

Sold Sothebys; 5/24/2001; Lot 33; $280,750

See the year in review 1883-1884