There are many artists whose work I like and respect, but my all-time favourite is John Singer Sargent. The first time I saw his work was in Chicago, in 1987. I had been in town working at the car show and had read that the Art Institute of Chicago had a collection of Edward Hopper paintings. I like Edward Hopper, so I thought I should take the opportunity to stay an extra day after the auto show closed and go take a look.
When I arrived at the impressive entrance, there was a sign saying that for $4 extra, you could see an exhibition by John Singer Sargent. I had never heard of him, but having allowed this day for cultural improvement (mine!), I thought I may as well be adventurous and see the Hopper exhibition afterwards. Well, that was the plan- it seemed like a good one at the time.
I walked into the Sargent exhibition and was immediately overwhelmed. His work is so amazing that some pieces moved me to tears. It is a rare event, and a tremendous privilege, to see art which is so profoundly affecting. I lost track of time; when they announced that the Institute was about to close, I was completely surprised. It wasn't until the door shut behind me that I realised I had totally forgotten the Hopper exhibition.
It was only recently that it occured to me how lucky I had been to see that collection of Sargent's work, because there hasn't been another exhibition like it. In 2007 I went to one in Venice, which was very good, but it was much smaller and mostly consisted of watercolours; it's his magnificent and dashing oil paintings that I really love.
If you'd like to see his work, here's a link to the website: http://www.jssgallery.org/
When I arrived at the impressive entrance, there was a sign saying that for $4 extra, you could see an exhibition by John Singer Sargent. I had never heard of him, but having allowed this day for cultural improvement (mine!), I thought I may as well be adventurous and see the Hopper exhibition afterwards. Well, that was the plan- it seemed like a good one at the time.
I walked into the Sargent exhibition and was immediately overwhelmed. His work is so amazing that some pieces moved me to tears. It is a rare event, and a tremendous privilege, to see art which is so profoundly affecting. I lost track of time; when they announced that the Institute was about to close, I was completely surprised. It wasn't until the door shut behind me that I realised I had totally forgotten the Hopper exhibition.
It was only recently that it occured to me how lucky I had been to see that collection of Sargent's work, because there hasn't been another exhibition like it. In 2007 I went to one in Venice, which was very good, but it was much smaller and mostly consisted of watercolours; it's his magnificent and dashing oil paintings that I really love.
If you'd like to see his work, here's a link to the website: http://www.jssgallery.org/
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