Signed lower left: John S. Sargent

In 1916, Sargent came to Boston to continue work on murals for the Boston Public Library; he also accepted a new commission for the Museum of Fine Arts. In July 1916, almost as an escape from these large-scale figural projects, he headed off to the Rocky Mountains to paint landscapes. He spent much of his time in Yoho Falls, British Columbia. As a going-away gift, Isabella Stewart Gardner presented Sargent with some Japanese handkerchiefs, and she in turn was promised a painting from the expedition.

Around this period, Sargent was seeking to free himself from the confines of society portraiture. He was unprepared, however, for the physical demands of life in the wilderness. With a guide and servant, Sargent braved the elements to sketch and paint outdoors. In this watercolor, the gleaming white tents – Sargent’s own abode – fascinated the artist as much as the surrounding dark forests.

Source: Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 207.

Purchased in 1916 from Sargent’s Boston exhibition of Rocky Mountain landscapes.