Sections
  • Home & Style
  • Editors’ Picks
  • Events Calendar
  • Food
  • Health
  • News & Politics
  • Longreads
  • Our Events
  • Parenting
  • Real Estate
  • Shopping
  • Things to Do
  • Travel
  • Weddings
Reader Favorites
  • 100 Best Restaurants
  • Takeout Guide
  • Quiz
  • Neighborhoods
  • Newsletters
  • Directories
Washington’s Best
  • Apartment Rentals
  • DC Travel Guide
  • Dentists
  • Doctors
  • Financial Advisers
  • Health Experts
  • Home Improvement Experts
  • Industry Leaders
  • Lawyers
  • Mortgage Professionals
  • Pet Care
  • Private Schools
  • Real Estate Agents
  • Restaurants
  • Retirement Communities
  • Wedding Vendors
More
  • Subscribe
  • Manage My Subscription
  • Digital Edition
  • Shop
  • Contests
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
© 2021 Washingtonian Media Inc.
Privacy Policy
All Rights Reserved
 Rss
Skip to content
Washingtonian.com
  • Search
  • Subscribe
  • Menu
  • News & Politics
  • Things to Do
  • Food
  • Health
  • Shopping
  • Home & Style
  • Real Estate
  • Weddings
  • Travel

  • 100 Best Restaurants
  • Takeout Guide
  • Quiz
  • Neighborhoods
  • Newsletters
  • Directories
  • Trending Now in Things to Do
  • Art
  • Television
  • After Hours
  • Music
  • Washington DC
Things to Do

Never-Before-Seen John Singer Sargent Drawings Coming to the National Portrait Gallery

Many of the exhibition's charcoals are from private collections; one is from the Queen herself

Written by Jane Recker
| Published on February 28, 2020
Tweet Share

When John Singer Sargent gave up his lucrative oil portraiture at the height of his career to focus on his murals, he still needed a way to keep the lights on. So, he continued his portraiture using charcoals, which allowed him to capture a subject in a single sitting, as compared to the days-long process of oil painting.

Sargent created over 750 of these masterpieces, many of which have remained hidden in the private collections of art collectors and relatives. Born through a cooperative effort by the National Portrait Gallery and New York’s Morgan Library & Museum, “John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal” is the first major exhibition exclusively of these charcoal works.

Ethel Barrymore / Courtesy National Portrait Gallery

The figures in the 50 portraits on display make up a veritable “who’s who” of Edwardian society. From actress Ethel Barrymore, to poet William Butler Yeats, to a young Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (on loan from Queen Elizabeth II herself), Sargent manages to capture the spirit of each individual in a fluid style containing both immaculate detail and gauzy impressionism.

Exhibition curator Robyn Asleson says the Gallery took care to present both prominent historical figures and tastemakers forgotten by time. Some such tastemakers: Daisy Fellowes (former Paris editor of Harper’s Bazaar) daringly gazes out from underneath a chic hat, while DC political hostess Ellen Peabody Endicott arches her eyebrows in a bemused, tight-lipped glance.

Daisy Fellowes / Courtesy National Portrait Gallery

Capturing both feminine beauty and distinct personality in his female portraits made Sargent an anomaly for his time. “Sargent was so successful in representing women,” Asleson says. “These women are not objects to be represented, they are observers. They’re observing the artist, they’re looking back at us. And I think you can almost see…their minds working.”

Sargent was gifted in nailing individual characters in his oil portraits; this skill is even more prominent in the meticulous intimacy of his charcoals. Up close, you can see the intense precision of each miniscule charcoal stroke, the intentionality of each smudged highlight. But step back, and an almost photorealistic visage emerges from a deep background. A nuanced, fully-fleshed human nature captured on paper in a single, 2 hour session.

“He was so good,” Asleson says. “It came so naturally to him to see people’s character and their psychology, that he undervalued how brilliant it was. That’s why they’re so timeless, you feel like you’re looking at people, you have a connection with a real person.”

“John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal” is on display at the National Portrait Gallery through May 31

Don’t Miss DC’s Best Events: Get Our Things to Do Newsletter

Arts, culture, and things to do in DC.

Or, see all of our newsletters. By signing up, you agree to our terms.
More: Ethel BarrymoreJohn Singer SargentNational Portrait GalleryQueen Elizabeth II
Join the conversation!
Share Tweet
Jane Recker
Jane Recker
Assistant Editor

Jane is a Chicago transplant who now calls Cleveland Park her home. Before joining Washingtonian, she wrote for Smithsonian Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she studied journalism and opera.

Most Popular in Things to Do

1

These Excellent Covid-19 Posters Are Both Beautiful and Beneficial

2
Plan It: Four Days With the Kids in Washington, DC

Plan It: Four Days With the Kids in Washington, DC

3

Junkyard Empire Brings a Maryland Family’s Auto Business Back to TV

4

The Great Washington Bucket List: 50 Things Every Local Needs to Do

5
We’ll Drink to That: Local Bars Create Cocktails for the Inauguration

We’ll Drink to That: Local Bars Create Cocktails for the Inauguration

Washingtonian Magazine

January 2021: Joe Town!

January 2021: Joe Town!

View Issue
Subscribe

Get Us on Social

We'll help you live your best #DCLIFE every day

Get Us on Social

We'll help you live your best #DCLIFE every day

Related

This past spring, Raven exhibited the piece at a political-art gallery across from the museum—one of many ploys for publicity for his lawsuit.

Trump-Loving Artist Julian Raven Calls on President to Resign

Your Ultimate 💀Spooky Guide💀 to Halloween and Día de los Muertos Events Around DC

Have a Meeting With the Queen? Don’t Do This.

Washingtonian’s Best Longreads of 2019

More from Things to Do

Arepas, Classical Music, and Flying Squirrels: Things to Do in Washington, January 21-24

Inauguration Week: Things to Do in Washington, January 19-20

James Comey, MLK Day, and an “Indoguration”: Things to Do in Washington, January 14-18

Outdoor Fun This Winter: Hikes, Igloos, Ice Skating, and More Around DC

Queer Portraiture, Criticizing White Feminism, and a Spy Chat with Former Intelligence Officials: Things to Do in Washington, January 11-13

Candle-Making, a Virtual Art Tour, and Classical Music in Cinema: Things to Do in Washington, January 7-10

Hitchcock, Billy Stewart, and Sanjay Gupta: Things to Do in Washington, January 4-6

Here’s What We Know About the Bachelor Contestant From Maryland

© 2021 Washingtonian Media Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Washingtonian is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Privacy Policy and Opt-Out
 Rss
Get the best news, delivered weekly.
By signing up, you agree to our terms.
  • Subscribe
  • Manage My Subscription
  • Digital Edition
  • Shop
  • Contests
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs