Label Text
Exhibition History"John Singer Sargent," National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., Feb. 21 - May 31, 1999; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, June 23 - Sept. 26, 1999
"From Body to Being: Reflections on the Human Image," Des Moines Art Center, Feb. 1 - May 4, 1997
"Uncanny Spectacle: The Public Career of the Young John Singer Sargent," Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, June - Sept. 14, 1997
"John Singer Sargent," Whitney Museum of American Art, N.Y., Oct. 7, 1986 - Jan. 4, 1987; (Circulated to: Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 4 - Apr. 19, 1987)
Extended loan, Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, Oct. 31 - Mar. 11, 1985
"The Quest For Unity: American Art Between World Fairs, 1876-1893," Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, Aug. 24 - Oct. 30, 1983
"19th-Century American Portraits from Iowa Collections," Des Moines Art Center, Sept. 14 - Oct. 17, 1976
"Sargent, Whistler and Mary Cassatt," Art Institute of Chicago, Jan. 14 - Feb. 25, 1954 and Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y., Mar. 25 - May 23, 1954
"Portraits and Playthings of Children," Chateau Bagatelle, Paris, France, 1910
Salon 1881, Paris (as no. 2109) as "Portraits de M. Edouard Pailleron et Mlle. Louise Pailleron..."
Published ReferencesRichard Ormond, JOHN SINGER SARGENT: PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS, WATERCOLORS, Harper & Row, N. Y. & Evanston, IL; Phaidon Press, Ltd., London, p.238, ill. pl. no.19
William Howe Downes, JOHN S. SARGENT - HIS LIFE AND WORK, Boston, 1925, ref. p.126
J. Buisson, GAZETTE DES BEAUX-ARTS, Vol. XXIV, 1881, p.44
Evan Charteris, JOHN SARGENT, New York, 1927, checklist ref. p.258
Marie-Louise Pailleron, LE PARADIS PERDU, Paris, France, 1947, pp.159-163.
Frederick A. Sweet, "Sargent, Whistler and Mary Cassatt," Art Institute of Chicago, 1954, ref. no.45, ill. p.48
Charles Merrill Mount, JOHN SINGER SARGENT: A BIOGRAPHY, New York, 1955, pp.66-69, 281
D. McKibbin, SARGENT'S BOSTON, Boston, 1956, p.115
IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE, auction catalog for Tues., Dec. 2, 1975, Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd., London, ref. no.14, p.32, color ill. pl. no.14, p.33
DMAC Bulletin, May/June 1976, cover ill.
DES MOINES SUNDAY REGISTER, Magazine Section, Sunday, Sept. 12, 1976, color ill.
"19th-Century American Portraits from Iowa Collections," Des Moines Art Center, 1976, exh. cat. no.17
"Principales Acquisitions Des Musees en 1975," SUPPLEMENT A LA GAZETTE DES BEAUX-ARTS, No. 1298, Mar. 1977, ill. p.60, pl. no.250
SEE MAGAZINE - A VISUAL SPECTRUM OF THE ARTS, Nov./Dec. 1977, color cover ill.
Lu Bro, DRAWING, A STUDIO GUIDE, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., N. Y., 1978, fig.2.27, p.40
Chrisopher Adreae, "Together, Apart," THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, (V/N), Wed., May 20, 1981, ref. p.20
BOLLETTINO D'ARTE (SUPPLEMENTO) - "Immagine del Museo negli Anni '80," Ministero per i Beni Culturali e Ambientale, Rome, (Four works from the Des Moines Art Center Collection and view of south facade of Pei wing reproduced to illustrate the article/talk "Collection (sic) of 20th Century Italian Art in the United States" by James T. Demetrion, delivered 1981, pp.67 - 73, The Pailleron Children ill. p.68)
Patricia Failing, "The Objects of Their Affection," ART NEWS, Nov. 1982, pp.122-131, ref. & color ill. p.131
Carter Ratcliff, JOHN SINGER SARGENT, by Carter Ratcliff, (New York: Abbeville Press, 1982), ref. pp. 61, 65, 70, illus. pl. 81, p. 58.
Lu Bro, WIE LERNE ICH ZEICHNEN, DuMont Buchverlag, Cologne, 1983, ill. p.52, fig.2.27
Patricia Failing, BEST LOVED ART FROM AMERICAN MUSEUMS, Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., N. Y., 1983, ref. p.110, color ill. p.111
"The Quest For Unity: American Art Between World's Fairs, 1876 - 1893," Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, 1983, exh. cat. no.59, ref. pp.129 & 130, b/w ill. p.130, photo credit p.286
DES MOINES ART CENTER: SELECTED PAINTINGS, SCULPTURES AND WORKS ON PAPER, Des Moines Art Center, 1985, ref. pp.188 - 190, color ill. pl.XXVIII, p.124
Francois Le Targat, "John Singer Sargent," BEAUX ARTS, Nov. 1986, ref. & color ill. p.130
Robert L. Pincus, "A Painter for the Privileged," THE SAN DIEGO UNION, (Sunday) Art review section, Nov. 2, 1986, ref. and b/w ill. p.E-1 (ill. reversed and no credit line)
Patricia Hills, "John Singer Sargent," Harry N. Abrams, N. Y., 1986, exh. cat. no.6, ref. pp.35 & 149, color ill. p.35
Robert Hobbs, EDWARD HOPPER, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., N. Y., 1987, b/w ill. p.28, credit
Trevor Fairbrother, JOHN SINGER SARGENT, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. in association with the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, N. Y., 1994, b/w ill. p.37
DMAC News, Nov./Dec. 1996, p.7
"Uncanny Spectacle: The Public Career of the Young John Singer Sargent," Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, 1997, exh. cat. no.20, color ill. p.132
AN UNCOMMON VISION: THE DES MOINES ART CENTER, Des Moines Art Center, 1998, ref. pp.34 & 242, color detail p.242, color ill. p.243
Elaine Kilurray & Richard Ormond, JOHN SINGER SARGENT, Tate Gallery Publishing, London, 1998, color ill. p.91
Elain Kilurray & Richard Ormand, JOHN SINGER SARGENT: THE EARLY PORTRAITS, Vol. 1, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 1998, ref. pp.51 - 53, color ill. p.52
Henry James, "The Turn of the Screw" and "The Aspern Papers", Penguin Books, 2003. Cover illustration.
Barbara Dayer Gallati, GREAT EXPECTATIONS: JOHN SINGER SARGENT PAINTING CHILDREN, Brooklyn Museum in association with Bulfinch Press, 2004, ref. and color ill. p. 76, b/w ill. p.197
Barbara Dayer Gallati, ADOLESCENCE IN THE ART OF JOHN SINGER SARGENT, article in THE MAGAZINE ANTIQUES, Brant Publishing House, October 2004, pgs.102-113.
Bonhams Magazine, Winter 2006, Issue No.9, color ill. pg. 19
Erica E.Hirshler 'Sargent's Daughters: The Biography of a Painting, Museum of Fine ARts Publications, 2009,color image, #2.7
Redford, Bruce, "John Singer Sargent and the Art of Allusion", Yale University Press, 2016. color ill pg. 77
Smith, Jack "Jack Smith Portraits and Selected Works," Starline Printing, Albuquereque, NM, 2015. color ill pg. 35
Pierotti, Julie, "The Real Beauty, The Artistic World of Eugenia Errazuriz", Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, 2018, ill.fig. no. 5, pgs. 19 and 20
Herdrich, Stephanie, SARGENT, OBRAS MAESTRAS, Edisiones el Viso, Madrid, 2018, ill. cat. no. 10, pg. 53 (Spanish language)
Born of American parents in Florence, Italy in 1856, Sargent travelled throughout Europe with his parents. It wasn't until he was twenty years old that he visited the United States for the first time. By then he had already studied art in Rome, Florence and Paris. In Paris he enrolled in the class of Carolus-Duran, a French portrait painter who painted directly onto the canvas without preliminary drawing. Travels to Spain in 1879 and in 1880 heightened his admiration for the work of the 17th century master Velasquez and this influence, as well as that of Frans Hals, led to such paintings as The Pailleron Children.
Edouard Pailleron was a French poet and playwright who had commissioned the young Sargent to paint his portrait and that of his wife. It was decided that Sargent would paint a double portrait of the children, young Edouard and Marie-Louise. According to Marie-Louise's memoirs, the 83 sittings which were required for the painting were often tempestuous and unpleasant for the painter and sitters alike.
By the mid-1880's Sargent moved to London and very quickly gained a position as the most admired portrait pinter of his day. In 1897 he became a full member of the Royal Academy and of the National Academy.
Source: Bulletib, May-June 1976.
Exhibition History"John Singer Sargent," National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., Feb. 21 - May 31, 1999; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, June 23 - Sept. 26, 1999
"From Body to Being: Reflections on the Human Image," Des Moines Art Center, Feb. 1 - May 4, 1997
"Uncanny Spectacle: The Public Career of the Young John Singer Sargent," Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, June - Sept. 14, 1997
"John Singer Sargent," Whitney Museum of American Art, N.Y., Oct. 7, 1986 - Jan. 4, 1987; (Circulated to: Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 4 - Apr. 19, 1987)
Extended loan, Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, Oct. 31 - Mar. 11, 1985
"The Quest For Unity: American Art Between World Fairs, 1876-1893," Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, Aug. 24 - Oct. 30, 1983
"19th-Century American Portraits from Iowa Collections," Des Moines Art Center, Sept. 14 - Oct. 17, 1976
"Sargent, Whistler and Mary Cassatt," Art Institute of Chicago, Jan. 14 - Feb. 25, 1954 and Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y., Mar. 25 - May 23, 1954
"Portraits and Playthings of Children," Chateau Bagatelle, Paris, France, 1910
Salon 1881, Paris (as no. 2109) as "Portraits de M. Edouard Pailleron et Mlle. Louise Pailleron..."
Published ReferencesRichard Ormond, JOHN SINGER SARGENT: PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS, WATERCOLORS, Harper & Row, N. Y. & Evanston, IL; Phaidon Press, Ltd., London, p.238, ill. pl. no.19
William Howe Downes, JOHN S. SARGENT - HIS LIFE AND WORK, Boston, 1925, ref. p.126
J. Buisson, GAZETTE DES BEAUX-ARTS, Vol. XXIV, 1881, p.44
Evan Charteris, JOHN SARGENT, New York, 1927, checklist ref. p.258
Marie-Louise Pailleron, LE PARADIS PERDU, Paris, France, 1947, pp.159-163.
Frederick A. Sweet, "Sargent, Whistler and Mary Cassatt," Art Institute of Chicago, 1954, ref. no.45, ill. p.48
Charles Merrill Mount, JOHN SINGER SARGENT: A BIOGRAPHY, New York, 1955, pp.66-69, 281
D. McKibbin, SARGENT'S BOSTON, Boston, 1956, p.115
IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE, auction catalog for Tues., Dec. 2, 1975, Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd., London, ref. no.14, p.32, color ill. pl. no.14, p.33
DMAC Bulletin, May/June 1976, cover ill.
DES MOINES SUNDAY REGISTER, Magazine Section, Sunday, Sept. 12, 1976, color ill.
"19th-Century American Portraits from Iowa Collections," Des Moines Art Center, 1976, exh. cat. no.17
"Principales Acquisitions Des Musees en 1975," SUPPLEMENT A LA GAZETTE DES BEAUX-ARTS, No. 1298, Mar. 1977, ill. p.60, pl. no.250
SEE MAGAZINE - A VISUAL SPECTRUM OF THE ARTS, Nov./Dec. 1977, color cover ill.
Lu Bro, DRAWING, A STUDIO GUIDE, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., N. Y., 1978, fig.2.27, p.40
Chrisopher Adreae, "Together, Apart," THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, (V/N), Wed., May 20, 1981, ref. p.20
BOLLETTINO D'ARTE (SUPPLEMENTO) - "Immagine del Museo negli Anni '80," Ministero per i Beni Culturali e Ambientale, Rome, (Four works from the Des Moines Art Center Collection and view of south facade of Pei wing reproduced to illustrate the article/talk "Collection (sic) of 20th Century Italian Art in the United States" by James T. Demetrion, delivered 1981, pp.67 - 73, The Pailleron Children ill. p.68)
Patricia Failing, "The Objects of Their Affection," ART NEWS, Nov. 1982, pp.122-131, ref. & color ill. p.131
Carter Ratcliff, JOHN SINGER SARGENT, by Carter Ratcliff, (New York: Abbeville Press, 1982), ref. pp. 61, 65, 70, illus. pl. 81, p. 58.
Lu Bro, WIE LERNE ICH ZEICHNEN, DuMont Buchverlag, Cologne, 1983, ill. p.52, fig.2.27
Patricia Failing, BEST LOVED ART FROM AMERICAN MUSEUMS, Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., N. Y., 1983, ref. p.110, color ill. p.111
"The Quest For Unity: American Art Between World's Fairs, 1876 - 1893," Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, 1983, exh. cat. no.59, ref. pp.129 & 130, b/w ill. p.130, photo credit p.286
DES MOINES ART CENTER: SELECTED PAINTINGS, SCULPTURES AND WORKS ON PAPER, Des Moines Art Center, 1985, ref. pp.188 - 190, color ill. pl.XXVIII, p.124
Francois Le Targat, "John Singer Sargent," BEAUX ARTS, Nov. 1986, ref. & color ill. p.130
Robert L. Pincus, "A Painter for the Privileged," THE SAN DIEGO UNION, (Sunday) Art review section, Nov. 2, 1986, ref. and b/w ill. p.E-1 (ill. reversed and no credit line)
Patricia Hills, "John Singer Sargent," Harry N. Abrams, N. Y., 1986, exh. cat. no.6, ref. pp.35 & 149, color ill. p.35
Robert Hobbs, EDWARD HOPPER, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., N. Y., 1987, b/w ill. p.28, credit
Trevor Fairbrother, JOHN SINGER SARGENT, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. in association with the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, N. Y., 1994, b/w ill. p.37
DMAC News, Nov./Dec. 1996, p.7
"Uncanny Spectacle: The Public Career of the Young John Singer Sargent," Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, 1997, exh. cat. no.20, color ill. p.132
AN UNCOMMON VISION: THE DES MOINES ART CENTER, Des Moines Art Center, 1998, ref. pp.34 & 242, color detail p.242, color ill. p.243
Elaine Kilurray & Richard Ormond, JOHN SINGER SARGENT, Tate Gallery Publishing, London, 1998, color ill. p.91
Elain Kilurray & Richard Ormand, JOHN SINGER SARGENT: THE EARLY PORTRAITS, Vol. 1, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 1998, ref. pp.51 - 53, color ill. p.52
Henry James, "The Turn of the Screw" and "The Aspern Papers", Penguin Books, 2003. Cover illustration.
Barbara Dayer Gallati, GREAT EXPECTATIONS: JOHN SINGER SARGENT PAINTING CHILDREN, Brooklyn Museum in association with Bulfinch Press, 2004, ref. and color ill. p. 76, b/w ill. p.197
Barbara Dayer Gallati, ADOLESCENCE IN THE ART OF JOHN SINGER SARGENT, article in THE MAGAZINE ANTIQUES, Brant Publishing House, October 2004, pgs.102-113.
Bonhams Magazine, Winter 2006, Issue No.9, color ill. pg. 19
Erica E.Hirshler 'Sargent's Daughters: The Biography of a Painting, Museum of Fine ARts Publications, 2009,color image, #2.7
Redford, Bruce, "John Singer Sargent and the Art of Allusion", Yale University Press, 2016. color ill pg. 77
Smith, Jack "Jack Smith Portraits and Selected Works," Starline Printing, Albuquereque, NM, 2015. color ill pg. 35
Pierotti, Julie, "The Real Beauty, The Artistic World of Eugenia Errazuriz", Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, 2018, ill.fig. no. 5, pgs. 19 and 20
Herdrich, Stephanie, SARGENT, OBRAS MAESTRAS, Edisiones el Viso, Madrid, 2018, ill. cat. no. 10, pg. 53 (Spanish language)
DimensionsFrame: 67 5/8 × 77 3/4 × 2 1/4 in. (171.8 × 197.5 × 5.7 cm)
Canvas: 60 × 69 in. (152.4 × 175.3 cm)
Canvas: 60 × 69 in. (152.4 × 175.3 cm)
Accession Number 1976.61
Classificationspainting
CopyrightPublic Domain
SignedJohn S. Sargent (u,r oil paint)
Catalogue raisonnéOrmond, 37
ProvenanceEdouard Pailleron (1834-1899), Paris [commissioned from the artist, 1881]; Marie-Louis Pailleron (1870-1950), Paris [by descent from her father, 1899]; Robert Bourget-Pailleron (1897-1970), Paris [by descent from his mother, 1950]; (Impressionist and Modern Paintings and Sculpture, Christie’s, London, December 2, 1975, lot 14); Newhouse Galleries, New York [purchased from the previous with two other galleries, 1975]; Des Moines Art Center [purchased from the previous, 1976]
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