Elizabeth Winthrop Chanler (Mrs. John Jay Chapman)
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chanler A. Chapman
Accession Number
1980.71
Tags
About this artwork
According to Sargent, twenty-six-year old Elizabeth Chanler had "the face of the Madonna and the eyes of a child." This portrait shows a beautiful, well-bred woman who has learned to be strong. When Elizabeth was still a girl, her mother died, leaving her to help care for seven younger brothers and sisters. Sargent painted her while she was in London for a brother's wedding, and the artist composed the portrait as if to suggest a turmoil of emotions in his sitter.
Art Historical Context
John Singer Sargent's 1893 portrait *Elizabeth Winthrop Chanler (Mrs. John Jay Chapman)* captures the poised elegance of a young American heiress from a prominent family. At just 26, Elizabeth had already shouldered profound responsibility: orphaned of her mother as a girl, she helped raise seven younger siblings. Sargent painted her during a trip to London for her brother's wedding, rendering her in a waist-length view within an intimate domestic setting, evoking a luxurious living room. The artist famously described his sitter as having "the face of the Madonna and the eyes of a child," ble...
About the Artist
John Singer Sargent · 1856–1925
John Singer Sargent, born on January 12, 1856, in Florence to American expatriate parents FitzWilliam Sargent, an eye surgeon and medical illustrator, and Mary Newbold Singer, an amateur artist, enjoyed a nomadic childhood across Europe. His mother nurtured his artistic inclinations with sketchbooks and museum visits, while he received early watercolor lessons from German landscape painter Carl We...