1880
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
Mrs. Charles Gifford Dyer (Mary Anthony) is a 1880 oil by John Singer Sargent, a American Impressionism work, held at Art Institute of Chicago.
This painting shows a woman sitting in a chair. She's wearing a fancy dress and a hat. The background is painted with quick brushstrokes, making it look soft and simple. The woman in the painting is Mrs. Charles Gifford Dyer, a friend of the artist. He painted this during his time in Venice, as a reminder of their friendship. You can learn more about the artist who painted this, John Singer Sargent.
The sitter and her husband, the painter Charles Gifford Dyer, were part of an expatriate community of American artists that lived and worked in Europe in the late 19th century. John Singer Sargent painted this portrait during his first extended stay in Venice as a professional artist. Rather than a formal commission, the work likely served as a souvenir of friendship and shared experiences. Its relatively small scale and the background’s thin, quick brushwork suggest that Sargent completed the canvas in a single sitting. The painting’s dark tones and limited palette are reminiscent of Spanish…
Art Institute of Chicago, Special Exhibition of the Works in the Friends of American Art Collection, May 15–June 15, 1919, cat. 8. New York, Grand Central Galleries, Retrospective Exhibition of Important Works of John Singer Sargent, Feb. 23–Apr. 6, 1924, cat. 49. Milwaukee Art Institute, An Exhibition of Forty Paintings Presented to the Art Institute of Chicago by the Friends of American Art , Mar. 1–29, 1925, cat. 31, as Mrs. Dyer . Art Institute of Chicago, A Survey of American Painting from the Permanent Collection of the Art Institute, July 21–Oct. 9, 1932. Museum of Modern Art, American…
Milwaukee Art Institute, Catalogue of an Exhibition of Forty Paintings Presented to the Art Institute of Chicago by the Friends of American Art , exh. cat. (Milwaukee Art Institute, 1925), n.p., cat. 31 (ill.), as Mrs. Dyer . Judith A. Barter, et al., The Age of American Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2011), cat. 74. Annelise K. Madsen, et al., John Singer Sargent and Chicago's Gilded Age , exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, 2018), 17, 26–27, 69, 76, 121, 133, 203, 209, 211, cat. 8, fig. 6 (ill.).
Read the full account in the museum source.
John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Belle Époque and Edwardian-era luxury.
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