This book has been out for a year or so, but I just read it over the past few days. The book was an attempt to try to demystify a very complex, tantalizing painting (and family), but in the end there was little left behind except the actual work. There are no sketches or letters by John Singer Sargent (JSS) disucssing his intentions in this masterpiece—which he painted in six weeks at the age of 26. The author does an excellent job, however explaining the artistic mindset of JSS as he came into painting this work.
I admired the author for her restraint in undertaking the text. She never oversteps or extrapolates, and in addition, she does a superb job with the family history of the Boits and John Singer Sargent's relationship with the father. Edward Darley Boit was a gifted painter who suffered a rejection from the 1891 Salon exhibition in Paris. It was a huge blow to him and, looking at the rejected painting, a shame.
Mr. Sargent was a painting friend of Mr. Boit's and there was enough of a friendship that first, he was entrusted, carte blanche, to paint the four daughters and secondly, with some kind of honor to be repaid, much later in life the two had several very successful watercolor shows together here in the U.S.
The four girls never married and their various histories are well explained. In addition, there were devastating family tragedies which, as always, make one aware of how lucky we are for modern medicine.
One of the nicest things I discovered was that the youngest daughter Julia was an artist herself and has many works left to the Newport Art Museum in Newport, Rhode Island. A few of her paintings are pictured in the book and are just lovely.
In short I highly recommend the book to those who are enthralled by "The Daughters of Boit," which hangs at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Mr. Boit wished for the museum to have the painting and what a gift it was. His four daughters signed over the painting in1919 to the museum, "In his memory we hereby present this canvas of us, his four daughters, to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts."
Sonia Hale is an award-winning, nationally-collected artist in Boston. She paints commissioned portraits for families and institutions nationwide. Her original landscape and still life oil paintings can be purchased at http://www.soniahale.com. For more information, go to http://www.soniahale.com. You can reach her by email at soniahale1@gmail.com.
