Memory impression of Mr. J. S. Sargent’s Boston Public Library decoration before going to America

Memory impression of Mr. J. S. Sargent’s Boston Public Library decoration before going to America

Item Information

Title:
Memory impression of Mr. J. S. Sargent’s Boston Public Library decoration before going to America
Description:
An interior view of artist John Singer Sargent’s Fulham Road studio in London as he developed panels for his mural commission at Boston Public Library. At lower right, a figure looks upward into the one-third-scale model of the library space that Sargent constructed. Pictured in the upper-left background is the "Heaven" panel, a lunette installed in Boston in 1916.
Artist:
Salisbury, Frank O. (Frank Owen), 1874-1962
Date:
1915
Format:
Paintings
Genre:
Oil paintings
Location:
Boston Public Library
Arts Department
Collection (local):
Fine Arts Department Collection
Subjects:
Artists' studios
Interiors
Models
Murals
Sargent, John Singer, 1856-1925
Places:
England > London
Extent:
1 painting : oil on canvas ; in frame 80 x 93 cm
Permalink:
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/6t054359j
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
This work is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License (CC BY-NC-ND).
CC BY-NC-ND icon
Notes:
Title from item.
Location: Boston Public Library (Boylston Room)
Notes (acquisition):
Gift; Crawford H. Greenewalt, Jr.; 1990
Notes (date):
Date from item.
Notes (object):
Carved wood frame, good condition.
Notes (historical):
This work depicts a view of John Singer Sargent’s Fulham Road studio in London while he developed panels for his mural commission at Boston Public Library. At lower right, a figure looks upward into a one-third-scale model of the library hall in which the panels were installed. In the upper left section of the painting is a rendering of Sargent’s "Heaven" panel, with its heraldic figures playing harps, as it would have appeared in the studio before its shipment to and installation in Boston in 1916. / After receiving a small plaster model of the hall designated for his murals from library architect Charles Follen McKim, Sargent constructed the larger scale model depicted in this painting. The artist sought to mimic the lighting and spatial conditions of the library hall while developing his murals, placing scaled versions of the panels and raised-relief elements on the model to assess their effectiveness. His mock-up of the "Dogma of the Redemption" panel on the south end of the library’s gallery is shown on the model in this painting. / While some of Sargent’s completed panels from the 29-year project were shown in London before their shipment to Boston, many viewers in England would never see the murals installed in the library, making the simulated experience through Sargent’s scale model even more poignant.
Identifier:
06_01_016388