Sitwell Family
John Singer Sargent
-- American painter
1900
Sir Reresby Sitwell
Bt.
Oil
170 X 193cm
Jpeg:
Drs. R. J. F. Bollebakker
From left: Edith Sitwell (1887 -
1964) made a Dame of the British Empire in 1954, Sir George Sitwell, Lady
Ida, Sacheverell (1897-1988), and Osbert Sitwell (1892-1969)
From: Wendy
& Gordon Hawksley
Date: 17, May, 2001
. . . A good reference about this
painting is to be found in 'The Sitwells and the Arts of the 1920s and
1930s' published by National Portrait Gallery Publications in 1994
to accompany an exhibition of the same title. It states -
In the spring of 1900 Sir
George [Sitwell] commissioned John Singer Sargent to paint a family group,
and therefore immortalise the great patron, his beautiful aristocratic
wife and the dynasty, represented by his three children. After exhibition
at the Royal Academy where it was admired by Sergei Diaghliev among others,
the painting was intended to be hung at Renishaw [Hall] as a companion
to the Copley portrait. The symbolism was there for all to see: Sir George
(who seldom rode) wore polished riding boots, an illusion to his sporting
ancestry, while Lady Ida was the picture of the dutiful wife, elegantly
arranging flowers in a silver bowl (something she would never have done;
at Renishaw as in all grand houses the flowers were arranged by the head
gardener). The family was posed against carefully chosen Sitwell heirlooms
brought down from Renishaw to the artist's Chelsea studio. As the elegant
projection of an image, the painting was a triumph - the dominant father,
his hand resting protectively on his daughter's shoulder, the beautiful
wife absorbed in her domestic task, the heir and his brother playing contentedly
- but as a representation of a happy family it was pure fantasy.
Renishaw Hall is a few miles outside
Sheffield, England.
Kind regards,
Wendy & Gordon Hawksley
Notes
My thanks to Dr. R. J. F. Bollebakker
for sending me an image of this painting and Wendy and Gordon Hawksley,
all friends of the
JSS Gallery.
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