Mountains and Fort along Coast (from Sketchbook)
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
5 1/4 x 8 1/4 in. (13.3 x 21 cm)
Classification
Drawing
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Francis Ormond, 1950
Accession Number
50.130.150k
Tags
Art Historical Context
Mary Newbold Sargent's *Mountains and Fort along Coast (from Sketchbook)*, created in 1904, a serene coastal vista through delicate graphite lines on a modest 5¼ x 8¼-inch sheet of paper. As a page from the artist's personal sketchbook, this intimate drawing showcases her keen eye for natural grandeur and architectural detail—towering mountains framing a rugged shoreline fort, with boats dotting the water. The work exemplifies the spontaneous, observational nature of sketchbook studies, where artists like Sargent honed their compositions away from the studio. Rendered in graphite, a versatile...
About the Artist
Mary Newbold Sargent · 1826–1906
Mary Newbold Sargent (née Singer, 1826–1906) was born on April 24, 1826, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to John Singer, a tanner and merchant, and Mary Smith Newbold. She married Dr. FitzWilliam Sargent, an eye surgeon, on June 27, 1850, in Philadelphia. The death of their first daughter, Mary Newbold Sargent (1851–1853), triggered a profound emotional crisis for Mary, prompting the family to aban...