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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1937.7.24.1-5
People
John Singer Sargent, American (Florence, Italy 1856 - 1925 London, England)
Title
Sketchbook ("1880"): Figural Sketches
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
sketchbook
Date
c. 1880 - c. 1881
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/307742

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Sketchbook with beige cloth-covered cardboard covers
Dimensions
27.1 x 36.1 x 0.7 cm (10 11/16 x 14 3/16 x 1/4 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • label: cover of sketchbook, paper, brown ink, graphite, handwritten: [brown ink:] 1890? - Haarlem?; [graphite, different hand:] 1880 / R. L. Ormond
  • inscription: front pastedown, graphite, in artist's hand: [written upside down:] [Curtis?] [ ] at Haarlem. 82.59-- / [Curtis?] left with [me?] 60 guilders for [ ] x [sic-- should be "+"] 10 for paints in Paris-- / [Owes?] me 82.59 - 70 = 12.59 = 25 fr.
  • inscription: back pastedown, graphite, in artist's hand: [upside down from orientation of the book:] [Sinamides?] / Av. du Montagne
  • inscription: back pastedown, graphite: Quanto bene ti volio [sic] / il mio bel Giovanino [= how much I love you, my little boy / pun on the name John?]
  • inscription: back pastedown, l.r., graphite and black ink: [upside down from orientation of book, in black ink:] 5.50 [crossed out in graphite]; [graphite:] 4.50

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
To the artist's sisters, Violet (Mrs. Francis) Ormond and Emily Sargent, at his death, 1925; gift of Mrs. Ormond to the Fogg Art Museum, 1937.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Mrs. Francis Ormond
Accession Year
1937
Object Number
1937.7.24.1-5
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
Sketchbook with beige-cloth-covered cardboard covers; and the remains of cloth ties. Pages of blue, tan, brown, and off-white wove paper. Sewn page block. The sketchbook is incomplete, with four pages remaining. One page, now numbered 5, was inserted later, but was not originally part of this sketchbook. Five drawings.The pages are numbered in red-brown ink in the upper right corners. A great number of pages are missing, including at least three before the first page, one after page one, and several after page four. The page numbered five appears to have been added later, as the paper does not match any other in the book or visible in the binding.

Contents: Figure and facial sketches; slight sketch of a crucified Christ, perhaps copied from another artwork; sketch that appears to be a Last Supper scene depicted from a corner of the table.

Publication History

  • Miriam Stewart and Kerry Schauber, "Catalogue of Sketchbooks and Albums by John Singer Sargent at the Fogg Art Museum", Harvard University Art Museums Bulletin (Cambridge, MA, Fall 1999 - Winter 2000), vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 16-38, pp. 28-29

Related Works

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu