John Singer Sargent (Florence, 1856 - 1925, London)
Letter to Isabella Stewart Gardner from The New Willard, Washington, D.C., 28 October 1917
Ink on paper, 17.2 x 27.2 cm (6 3/4 x 10 11/16 in.)
Long Gallery
Commentary
Writing to Isabella Stewart Gardner from Washington, DC, where he was painting President Woodrow Wilson’s portrait, John Singer Sargent observes that it “takes a man a long time to look like his portrait, as Whistler used to say—but he (Wilson) is doing his best, and has been very obliging about finding time for his sittings.” With characteristic wit, he goes on to confide that the company of good friends in the capital has restrained him from the “cursing of God and man than I otherwise might have.”