John Singer Sargent
A Backwater, Calcot Mill near Reading
1881-1891
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John Singer Sargent
A Backwater, Calcot Mill near Reading
1881-1891
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, 18 7/8 x 25 7/8 in. (47.9 x 65.7 cm)
Framed: 29 1/8 x 36 x 3 3/4 in. (74 x 91.4 x 9.5 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of J. Gilman D'Arcy Paul
Object Number
1968.22
Pollution along London’s Thames River, a major commercial thoroughfare since the reign of Henry VIII, led Victorian civic leaders to undertake extensive cleanup efforts. By the time John Singer Sargent painted upriver near Henley, the Thames had become a favorite venue for artists and writers. Following Claude Monet’s example, Sargent built himself a little studio boat, enabling him to paint views of the shore from a midstream vantage point. Here, a secluded backwater, overhung with sun-dappled branches, creates an enclosed green and leafy space. A splash of white pigments captures the barely distinguishable image of a woman reclining under an umbrella in a reddish brown punt. Sargent’s canvas echoes descriptions in the popular press of “the clear Thames bordered by its garden green.”
Publication References
Adelson Galleries, "Sargent and Impressionism," New York: Adelson Galleries, 2010, Pl. 20.
"Claude Monet, 1840-1926 : Paris, galeries nationales, grand palais, 22 septembre 2010-24 janvier 2011 / galeries nationales, grand palais," Paris : Reunion des musees nationaux; Paris : Musee d’Orsay, 2010, p. 284, fig. 2, ill.
Ormond, Richard and Elaine Kilmurray. "John Singer Sargent." "Complete Paintings." Vol. 5, "Figures and Landscapes, 1883-1899." New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2010. p. 150, pl. 880.
Sona K. Johnston, "American Painting 1750-1900 from the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," 1983, pp. 144-145, ill. p. 144.
Sargent Sale, London, 1925; Milch Galleries, New York, 1926; M. Knoedler and Co., New York and London; Sidney Dillon and others Sale, New York, 1929; John R. Dienaide, Tarrytown, New York; American Art Association Sale, New York, 1933; E. W.
McMahon, New York; Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., New York; Kennedy Galleries, New York; J. Gilman D'Arcy Paul, Baltimore
McMahon, New York; Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., New York; Kennedy Galleries, New York; J. Gilman D'Arcy Paul, Baltimore
Very Social Lives: Americans at Home and Abroad in the Art of John Singer Sargent
Sargent and Impressionism
The Early Years of American Impressionism, 1880-1900
AMW Reinstallation 2014
Monet and American Impressionism
American Wing Rotations 2020
American Wing Rotations 2021
American Wing Rotations 2022
American Wing Rotations 2023
American Wing Rotations 2024
American Wing Rotations 2025
Catalogue of Pictures and Water Colour Drawings of the late John Singer Sargent, R.A., Messrs. Christie, Manson & Woods, London, July 24-27, 1925, no. 132; Art News, Aug. 15, 1925, p. 4; Evan Charteris, John Sargent, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1927, p. 283; Oil Paintings and Water-Colors, From the Collection of the late Sidney Dillon, Esq. ... and others (sale cat.), American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, Inc., New York, Nov. 15, 1929, no. 58, ill.; European XVIII Century Oil Paintings, A Group of American Works (sale cat.), American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, Inc., New York, Mar. 23, 1933, no. 20, ill.; Charles Merrill Mount, John Singer Sargent, A Biography, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1955, P. 446, no. K884;
The Kennedy Quarterly, Sept. 1968, p. 167, no. 159, ill.; "La Chronique des Arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Feb. 1969, p. 83, no. 330, ill. p. 82;
William H. Gerdts, American Impressionism, Seattle: The Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, 1980, P. 38
The Kennedy Quarterly, Sept. 1968, p. 167, no. 159, ill.; "La Chronique des Arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Feb. 1969, p. 83, no. 330, ill. p. 82;
William H. Gerdts, American Impressionism, Seattle: The Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, 1980, P. 38