Artwork Details
Artist
Creation Date
Materials
Object Types
Dimensions
36 x 30-1/2 in. (canvas) 47 x 41 in. (framed)
Accession Number
Credit Line
Painted on commission from the Art Association of Indianapolis
Copyright
Collection
American Painting and Sculpture 1800-1945
Color Palette
Provenance
Artist commission; purchased by the Art Association of Indianapolis, Indiana, for the John Herron Art Museum, now the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, in 1903.
Gallery Labels
- Sargent was commissioned by the Art Association of Indianapolis, the forerunner of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, to create this portrait of the Indiana author and poet James Whitcomb Riley.
- Riley is posed in a contemplative manner, holding a book to suggest his profession as a writer. Sargent chose a limited dark palette as well as a plain background to convey the no-nonsense, down-to-earth personality of his subject.
- Born in Florence, Italy, to American parents, Sargent traveled throughout Europe in his youth. Determined to become an artist, he trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He was acclaimed as one of the era’s most fashionable portraitists.
Exhibition History
Exhibition Name
Venue
Dates
Indianapolis Museum of Art Columbus Gallery
March 3, 1996 - April 28, 1996
Indianapolis Museum of Art
October 7, 1994 - September 10, 1995
Indianapolis Museum of Art
July 2, 1989 - August 20, 1989
More from the Collection
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