The Countess of Lathom
John Singer Sargent1904/1904
Chrysler Museum of Art
Norfolk, United States
“Ask me to paint your gates, your fences, your barns, which I should gladly do, but not the human face,” begged John Singer Sargent after completing this picture of Lady Wilma Pleydell-Bouverie Bootle-Wilbraham, Countess of Lathom (1869–1931)—“Queenie” for short. Such privileged clients adored Sargent’s vigorous, gestural brushstrokes for the modern but elegant energy they brought to traditional portraiture. These commissions generated income and prestige, but Sargent sought more creative projects. He later turned exclusively to painting landscapes and allegorical murals for grand public buildings.
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- Title: The Countess of Lathom
- Creator: John Singer Sargent
- Creator Lifespan: 1856/1925
- Creator Nationality: American
- Creator Gender: Male
- Creator Death Place: London, United Kingdom
- Creator Birth Place: Florence, Italy
- Date: 1904/1904
- Location Created: London, United Kingdom
- Provenance: Edward George (1864-1910), 2nd Earl of Lathom, husband of the sitter; Edward William (1895-1930), 3rd Earl of Lathom, son of the sitter; Marie Xenia, Countess of Lathom, his widow [on loan to the Tate Gallery, London, ca. 1926-1930]; sold by her to Dr. A. S. W. Rosenbach, Philadelphia, 1930; sale of the property of the Rosenbach Company, Philadelphia, by Parke-Bernet, New York, Nov. 11-14, 1942, no. 609; International Business Machines Corporation, New York, by 1954 and still in that collection in 1963; sold to Hirschl & Adler, New York, 1968; sold to Mrs. Mimi Bloch, New York, 1969; Shickman Galleries, New York; Jack Tanzer, New York, 1969; M. Knoedler and Co., New York, May 11, 1972 (A9551); Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., New York, September 27, 1973; Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. to the Chrysler Museum, 1971.
- Physical Dimensions: 89 3/4 x 67 5/8 in. (228 x 171.8 cm)
- Credit Line: Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
- Type: Painting
- Medium: Oil on canvas
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