John Singer Sargent (Florence, 1856 - 1925, London)
Mrs. Gardner in White, 1922
Watercolor on paper, 43 x 32 cm (16 15/16 x 12 5/8 in.)
This vertical watercolor painting on paper illustrates Mrs. Gardner leaning back on a daybed. The bedspread is a light beige with a dark beige floral pattern. The daybed is long and has gray fringe along the bottom that touches the floor. Gardner is in the center of the panel, leaning on the white pillow with red stripes behind her. She is depicted in a long bright white fabric fully covering her body except her face. Even her head and neck are covered by the fabric like a headscarf. The white fabric cascades to the floor. We can only see her eyes and nose and slightly opened mouth. Her skin tone is light, and barely differs in color from the fabric around her. The background is shown in a mix of light blue, dark blue and brown stains that are the suggestion of pillows. The watercolor is surrounded by a white mat, and has a simple gilded frame.
Macknight Room
Commentary
John Singer Sargent painted this portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner shortly after she had suffered a debilitating stroke, and he was working on the mural decoration for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She described this work as an informal sketch, and called it “a water-colour, not meant, I hope, to look like me.” The calmness of her pose and shroud-like swath of white fabric express an otherworldliness that bears little resemblance to her previous ebullient character. This is the last portrait of Isabella before her death in 1924.