A watershed year for Sargent.

In London the art world is in an uproar over the "Post Impressionist" show put on by Roger Fry that runs  thru January. 

At the age of fifty-five Sargent is no longer struggling to get recognized by the establishment, he IS the establishment -- a full member of the Royal Academy, London; and  National Academy of Design, New York. His "too French" bravura style of painting had long ago been fully embraced by the public and most critics. By publishing Sargent's name with a list of supporters of the "Post- Impressionist" in December, Fry has put him on the spot. Does he join the revolt against the Academy -- which is, after all, himself and his friends, or does he distance himself from this new movement. 

In January he writes two open letters to the  Nation distancing himself and criticizing Fry (January 7th and 14th respectively). About this time he also writes to Fredreck Jameson clarifying his views on Impressionism (see Claude Monet Painting). 

From this moment forward the war is on. Fry and other like minded people see Sargent's formal oils as nothing more than illustrations. But Sargent in 1911 could not be more popular with the public. This rift, however, would eventually lead to a deep erosion in Sargent's popularity after his death 
(See A Critical Turn against Sargent).

May: Sargent goes to Paris to see the Ingres exhibition.

June: he's in Munich with Adrian and Marianne Stokes. On the 28th he receives a letter from Edwin Austin Abbey's wife. His old friend was dying and the murals he had been working on for the new state capitol at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, were not quite complete. Sargent dropped everything and was back in London in two days where he visits his friend and supervises the completion of his work. 

Later that summer: Simplon Pass, Switzerland with Emily, Violet and her family and friends. Here he paints a group of watercolors. Among others: In the Tyrol, Green Parasols, and Reading. The two women featured In the Tyrol are Rose-Marie on the right and Dorothy Barnard whom Sargent painted as a child in his masterpiece some twenty-five years previous (Carnation, Lilly, Lilly, Rose -- 1885-86). Dorthy would now be in her thirties.

September: he's in Venice at the Palazzo Barbaro.

October: Carrara where he paints the marble quarries (two oils and some sixteen watercolors).

Sometime in the year Sargent paints a portrait of his niece Rose-Marie Ormond Michel and calls it Repose. Rose-Marie had, by then, been married and is approximately 21 years old. The painting may, indirectly, be a tribute to Manet's Repose.