Object details
Accession number
P3e17
Primary Creator
John Singer Sargent
(Florence, 1856 - 1925, London)
Full title
Astarte
Creation Date
1893-1894
Provenance
Acquired by Sir Frederic Leighton (1830–1896), English painter and sculptor, from John Singer Sargent about 1894.
Purchased by Robert Dunthorne (b. about 1851), print dealer and publisher, at Leighton's sale, Christie's London on 14 July 1896, lot 340 for £22.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from Dunthorne through her friend Sally Fairchild (1869–1960) on 8 August 1896 for £170.
Marks
Inscribed and signed (lower right): To Sir Frederic Leighton John S. Sargent
Dimensions
91 x 60 cm (35 13/16 x 23 5/8 in.)
Display Media
Oil on canvas
Web Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.
Permanent Gallery Location
Blue Room
Bibliography
Catalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 2. (as "Sketch of Astarte for decoration of the Public Library of the City of Boston")John La Farge et al (eds.). Noteworthy Paintings in American Private Collections, vol. 1 (New York, 1907), p. 3.Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 40.Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 224-25.Doreen Bolger Burke. “Astarte: Sargent's Study for The Pagan Gods Mural in the Boston Public Library.” Fenway Court (1976), pp. 8-19.Sarah Cash, Elaine Kilmurray, and Richard Ormond. Sargent & Spain. Exh. cat. (Washington DC, National Gallery of Art, 2022; Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, 2023), pp.221, no. 132.
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