The Cantor Arts Center, Sally Fairchild and Sargent's Women, A New Book About the Artist

Portrait of Sally Fairchild

At the Cantor Arts Center: John Singer Sargent, Portrait of Sally Fairchild, 1884-1887. Oil on canvas. Gift of Dr. Herbert and Elizabeth Sussman, David and Valerie Rucker, Dr. Stephen Sussman and Kelly Watson, Eric and Nancy Sussman, and Dean and Chiara Sussman, 2012.1

We went to the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University this week to see an exhibit which ended the day after we went, Creativity on the Line. It used an Atomic expresso coffee maker as an illustration ... the Brevetti Roboatti*, celebrate "the timeless beauty that mid-century modern designers brought to everyday objects".

Later we paused by a compelling young woman painted by John Singer Sargent, a Portrait of Sally Fairchild, 1884–87, who is beyond fetching, rather strong and self-assured:

"Sargent was known for his brilliant depiction of whites by using other colors, as seen in the white blouse. He received his artistic training in Paris and became a leading portrait painter of the social elite in Europe and America. Working directly from the model without preliminary sketches, he was adept at capturing the personality of his sitters. The artist strikes a balance of delicate, bold, and loose brushwork to express the intellect of the fetching 16-year-old Sally Fairchild. Paving the way for generations of young women to come, she would become the first female to attend lectures at Harvard University."

This isn't the only time that we've been drawn to a book about Sargent; four years ago when Val Castronovo reviewed the Brooklyn Museum's Sargent watercolor exhibit, I noted the book, Sargent's Daughters; The Biography of a Painting by Erica E. Hirshler*. The new book, Sargent's Women, written by Donna M. Lucey and published by W.W. Norton, has just been released but since we're shy book reviewers lately, you'll have to accept Norton's opinion:

"Sargent’s Women has a distinct elegance and potency — Lucey's writing propels you forward, straight to the heart of the story, along the vibrant ties that linked this fascinating artist to the women he made infamous." — Christene Barberich, global editor-in-chief and cofounder, Refinery29

"In this seductive, multilayered biography, based on original letters and diaries, Donna M. Lucey illuminates four extraordinary women painted by the iconic high-society portraitist John Singer Sargent. With uncanny intuition, Sargent hinted at the mysteries and passions that unfolded in his subjects’ lives.

"Elsie Palmer traveled between her father’s Rocky Mountain castle and the medieval English manor house where her mother took refuge, surrounded by artists, writers, and actors. Elsie hid labyrinthine passions, including her love for a man who would betray her. As the veiled Sally Fairchild — beautiful and commanding — emerged on Sargent's canvas, the power of his artistry lured her sister, Lucia, into a Bohemian life. The saintly Elizabeth Chanler embarked on a surreptitious love affair with her best friend's husband. And the iron-willed Isabella Stewart Gardner scandalized Boston society and became Sargent's greatest patron and friend.

"Like characters in an Edith Wharton novel, these women challenged society’s restrictions, risking public shame and ostracism. All had forbidden love affairs; Lucia bravely supported her family despite illness, while Elsie explored Spiritualism, defying her overbearing father. Finally, the headstrong Isabella outmaneuvered the richest plutocrats on the planet to create her own magnificent art museum.

"These compelling stories of female courage connect our past with our present — and remind us that while women live differently now, they still face obstacles to attaining full equality."

*Artist unknown (Italy), Atomic Espresso maker for Brevetti Robbiati, 1950s. Aluminum, brass, plastic, and bakelite. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, L.25.7.2016 expresso machine

**From Hirschler's Book:

"The painting itself continues to speak. Watching people look at it in the museum's galleries can be fascinating. Viewers seem to spend more time with it than they do with others in the room where it hangs. (Editor's note: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.) Often they are artists, bewitched by Sargent's ability with the brush. Sometimes they are mothers who use the picture's accessibility — the youngest girl sits so close to the visitor — to engage their own small children. Some visitors beg the museum staff for admission to the gallery if the room is closed for an installation, usually recounting the long distances they have traveled just to see this one thing, this icon, this masterpiece. People weep in front of it."

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The Cantor Arts Center, Sally Fairchild and Sargent's Women, A New Book About the Artist

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