John Singer Sargent

Miss Cara Burch (1878-1961), 1888. John Singer Sargent (b. Italy, 1856–1925). Oil on canvas, 30 x 25 ¼ in. New Britain Museum of American Art, Charles F. Smith Fund, 1942.02.

John Singer Sargent was born in Florence to American parents. He showed a precocious gift for painting and drawing that his mother encouraged, arranging for him to study with some of the finest teachers on the Continent. Although Sargent continued to live abroad, he befriended a number of American artists and exerted his presence in the States through exhibitions and intermittent visits. By 1893 he was among the most acclaimed society portraitists in England and America, yet he also found time to dedicate himself to landscape subjects and mural commissions. An inveterate traveler, Sargent never set down his brush as he journeyed throughout Europe, the Near East, and North America. He worked as an official war artist for the British during World War I, documenting events at the front line in France.

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Spring 2010 Couture: The Painterly Aesthetic

Elie Saab, Spring 2010 Couture (Credit: Style.com)

Spring 2010 couture is all about the surface design of the fabric. I’m not talking your run of the mill prints—no, this is in a whole new direction. This year, fabrics mimic paintings. Evoked through flowing watercolor-inspired chiffon and the layering of colors, this new style creates the appearance of brushstrokes. This trend appears in the Spring 2010 couture collections of Elie Saab, Anne Valerie Hash, Jean Paul Gaultier and Valentino. Coincidentally, the New Britain Museum of American Art is hosting the exhibition The Great American Watercolor opening April 24 and running until July 3rd. The ethos of this current trend can be seen readily throughout the breadth of style and technique in many of the pieces that will be on display.

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Art and fashion: How Fashion Repeats Itself

   

Nancy, the Artist’s Daughter, ca 1915. George de Forest Brush (1855-1941). Oil on wood panel, 37 x 28 in. New Britain Museum of American Art, John Butler Talcott Fund and Mrs. H. Bowdith, 1947.01.

  

Taking a flip through The New York Times’ Style Magazine, there is a clear repetition, or rather, re-occurrence of certain trends that we know, thanks to the accurate documentation of fashion through art, have been around for quite some time. Some of these styles have been derived from the bourgeoisie—the over-the-top decorative manner of those who could afford to spare no expense—while some have far more humble origins—the simple and accessible fashions of the day-to-day people.  

This year, well, as in every year, fashion has reached back–way back–for inspiration in creating some of the hottest trends right now.

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Art and Fashion: Fashion in Portraiture

The Reverend Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright, 1820. John Trumbull, (1756-1843). Oil on Canvas, 29 3/4 x 23 3/4 in. New Britain Museum of American Art, Harriet Russell Stanley Fund, 1948.08.

Regardless of time or place, fashion has been an unmistakable facet of portraiture. What someone is wearing in their depiction can tell the viewer the period in which it was painted, the economic standing of the sitter, their relative age, and much much more. While the faces of the subjects are important for identification, their clothing gives further insight to their lives. In John Trumbull’s portrait of Reverend Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright (1820) we can assess what kind of man he is without ever knowing his title. He is clothed in traditional clergyman robes—an austere black and white. The overall lack of color in his wardrobe signifies a devotion to his religious practices while the singularly bright book indicates his passion for the scriptures.

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