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Sargent's Daughters: The Biography of a Painting

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"Sargent's Daughters" is in itself a fascinating, finely drawn portrait of one of John Singer Sargent's most memorable and haunting paintings: Portraits d'Enfants, more commonly known as The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit. Ms. Hirshler's cogent "biography of a painting" is not only well-written, but includes numerous illustrations of the portraits and landscape paintings relevant to the history of the Boit family and their relationship to Sargent.

Anyone who has seen this painting has undoubtedly been affected by the almost sinister dark shadows which nearly engulf two of the four girls, and the odd, off-balance placement of the figures in a somewhat bare, large room, the foyer of the Boits' home in Paris in the late 1880's. Ms. Hirshler presents the sometimes sad and strange history of the Boit family, American ex-pats who spent most of their lives in Europe (like Sargent and many others) but always called Boston "home". It is a history that reads like a Henry James novel - indeed, James was a close friend of both the Boits and Sargent - and Hirshler provides us with the fascinating background of the times, the changing state of art, and the intimate details of the lives of four little girls whose images were captured in oils by one of the most acclaimed painters in Paris at the time.

There has been a strong and growing revival of interest in Sargent for the last 10-15 years, with several major exhibitions mounted throughout the U.S., and also some splendid art books delineating various stages of his career, to many of which Ms. Hirshler has contributed essays on Sargent's art.

Ms. Hirshler has given us a deeply insightful look into one of the finest paintings of the late 19th century, by a painter who was considered the very greatest American painter at the height of his career - it's well past time for Sargent's light to shine again, and Ms. Hirshler has presented us with an interesting and accessible book that will help that process.

FYI, the "Daughters" painting is in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, along with other Sargent paintings, watercolors and sketches.

Mary F. Burns, author

A catch was left in my throat as I read Erica Hirshler's description of Sargent's "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit". Ah yes, I thought, if I sought to word-picture this painting, these are the perfect words I would hope to find.
Clearly, Ms. Hirshler's book was not going to be dryspeak that only a scholar could love. Although this book will satisfy scholars, it is also for people like me who have peripheral knowledge of art, at best, but are often captivated by a particular painting. Ms. Hirshler highlights cultural, social, and artistic lives of both expatriate painters and upper middle class Americans during the 19th and early 20th centuries along with the history of accolades and prejudices that art critics and viewers have brought to Sargent's painting.
Like scrims being lifted, "Sargent's Daughters:A Biography of a Painting", enlightens us but, as on a ballet stage, scrims remain, keeping intact a sense of mystery along with the beauty of this great painting.

A good analysis and history of one important, haunting painting of four sisters. Erica E. Hirshler presents the reader with straightforward information of the subject family (the Boits), the painter (Sargent), and the artistic times surrounding "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit" (when painted in 1882 down to the present).

Given the prominence and wealth of the family and the long lives led by most of the children, it is startling how little direct source material is available on the four sisters.

Readers interested in a similar "biography" of another notable painting by John Singer Sargent may wish to read "Strapless" by Deborah Davis (2003).

Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever. -- Ezra 9:12 (NKJV)

I never make a trip to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts without communing for at least 20 minutes with "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit," much more time than I spend with "Madame X" when I visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Does that make the MFA's painting my favorite? No, not really. But it certainly is the most tantalizing painting in the collection for stirring my imagination to ask lots of questions.

Naturally, I've arranged to follow docents in to hear them talk about the painting. The details that they shared often increased my desire to know more, rather than decreased it. Why, for example, did none of the daughters ever marry? What were their lives like as they grew up?

Sargent's intentions also provide lots of room for questions: Why are the four daughters portrayed as they are? Why are they wearing what they are? How did Sargent hope to advance his career with this painting?

I am delighted to report that Sargent's Daughters answered all of my questions without drawing me into lots of new ones. For the moment, I'm pretty satisfied with what I have learned from reading the book . . . which is a history of the painting (and all who were connected to it) in all of its dimensions rather than a art history book focusing solely on the painting.

Dr. Hirshler knows her subject, and she also knows how to tell a good, entertaining story. Her erudition concerning American painting is kept in check so that the book is easily accessible even for those with the mildest passing interest in Sargent and painting. While many art books are so filled with technical terms that can spend a lot of time with a dictionary, Dr. Hirshler knows how to write clearly and in non-technical ways. She also knows how to share just the right amount of details, not too much . . . nor too little. As a result, this book is a triumph that will help draw many new generations to this intriguing painting in centuries to come.

Brava, Dr. Hirshler!

After reading about this book in The Boston Globe, I was thrilled to be able to pick up a copy while visiting the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). It's not exactly a page-turner, but it certainly shed light on the painting, the artist, and the subjects.

As titled, the book is a biography of the painting, not the artist, and so we learn only as much about Sargent himself as is necessary to describe the context of the painting. The book includes many quotes from contemporary art critics, both positive and negative in response to this specific painting, and I was left wondering what Sargent might have thought of the mixed reactions.

I did learn quite a bit about the Paris Salon, the differences among French versus English versus American tastes in art, and the evolution of art appreciation. The book provides a thorough biography of the Boit family (whose daughters are portrayed in the painting), and I found it quaint that much of the personal information was gleaned from diary entries written by Bob Boit, the four girls' uncle. While the artistic analysis of the painting was educational, I was most entertained by the "Afterlife" chapters, which told the stories of what became of Edward and Isa Boit (the girls' parents), each of the girls, and the painting itself, whose provenance is thoroughly traced.

I was, however, sorely disappointed that the full provenance of the two large vases (that appear in the painting and which are displayed alongside the painting at the MFA) was not provided. The book describes their home in Edward Boit's Brookline (MA) house in 1903, and states that the vases stayed there until they were moved to the MFA in 1986. But if Edward Boit put his house on the market in 1911, and returned to Europe, then who owned the vases for the greater part of the century? And who decided to donate them to the MFA?

My only other complaint is that I wish all paintings that were referenced in the book were reprinted for reference, but I suppose there are copyright issues, and I guess it's not too much effort to look up paintings on the internet.

The final conclusion was beautifully written. The author suggests that "as with all masterpieces, the facts behind it can add to its allure" - and it's true. After reading Sargent's Daughters, I can't wait to visit the MFA again and view the painting in light of what I've read in this book

Erica Hirshler's story behind the people portrayed in one of John Singer Sargent's most famous paintings is turning out to be one of the surprise art book sellers not connected to an exhibition this season. Released in October by MFA Publications, the publishing arm of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, with first printing of 5,000 copies intended to last several years.

I loved the book. It's very, very interesting. Sargent's Daughters: The Biography of a Painting includes 25 color and 40 black-and-white illustrations, and First Printing is already out of stock. It is a collectible book!

Erica Hirshler has written a masterful biography of a painting, its painter, and its subjects. The painter was John Singer Sargent, the painting was "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit", and the subjects were the four daughters of amateur artist and American ex-pat, Edward "Ned" Boit and his wife, Isa.

The Boits were from a long line of Boston Brahmans of independent means. They left the United States for the culture of Europe, shortly after their marriage and birth of their first child, a son. The son was later placed in a sanitarium after losing his mind in the US. One other son, who died early, and four daughters followed. The four girls all reached adulthood, but never married. (Boit had two more sons when he remarried a second time following his first wife's death). Ned Boit and his family drifted from Paris to Rome and other towns in France, England, Switzerland, and Italy in the thirty or so years they lived abroad. During that time, Ned Boit studied painting and displayed his work, landscapes, in various exhibitions and he achieved some recognition as a fine artist. He was also a patron of other artists, the best known was John Singer Sargent.

Sargent, also an American by birth, met up with the Boit family in Paris and was asked to paint a portrait of the four daughters, who ranged in age from about 15 to seven. Because of his friendship with the girls' parents, Sargent felt free not to paint a conventional portrait of the girls. What he did paint was a large portrait of the four girls, one seen only from one side, two also shown in somewhat shaded style, and the fourth, shown full on. The painting, done in 1882, created a sensation when it was displayed in a Paris exhibition and has certainly generated attention ever since. It has been in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts for the past 100 or so years, along with the two huge Chinese vases, depicted with the girls.

John Singer Sargent is one of my favorite painters. His portraits are often compared to those painted by Velasquez, particularly Valesquez's paintings of the Spanish royal family in the mid-1600's. Whether Sargent, who painted 250 years after Velasquez, copied his style of subject placement, or merely was influenced by it, we'll never know.

Sargent went on to paint more society portraits in France, England, and the US. He painted individual portraits of Ned Boit and Isa Boit. His paintings have gone in and out of style since his death in 1925. Currently, they're back in style and Hirshler's book helps explain why.

If the reader is interested in learning more about John Singer Sargent, Deborah Davis wrote an excellent book, "Strapless, John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X", which was published in 2003. A fictional account of "Madame X", by Gioia Diliberto, was published in 2004.

But if the reader learns about what happened to the painting and the painter, little is known about the Boit family after Ned Boit died in 1915. None of the four girls married - Hirshler wonders if perhaps bouncing back and forth between the US and Europe may have diminished their matrimonial prospects - and all lived fairly long lives in the US. Two were very good artists, themselves, but all four passed into history without leaving much of a record other than their portrayal in a very famous work of art.

Erica Hirshler is a good writer. Scholarly, yet lively. I recommend her book as a "picture beyond the portrait".

Henry James referred to this painting as a "knock-down insolence of talent"--yes, it is a bit presumptuous, isn't it? But you want to know the story behind it. Who are these young ladies? Where are they? Why is the picture so gloomy, moody and intriguing? What about the composition of the painting? Why did Sargent paint them this way?

This book answers those questions and more. It tells the story of the painting, the daughters in it and about their parents. It's a wonderful biography of a painting and family. I enjoyed knowing the story behind the large blue and white vases in the painting. It follows each of the daughter's lives in the painting and tells what happened to them ultimately. It's not altogether a happy story, but offers a snapshot of lives at the end of the 19th century into the 20th. An enjoyable read for art lovers--wish there was a biography of a painting so well-researched on all of our favorite works of art.

The irony of art historian and curator Erica E. Hirshler's newly released book entitled Sargent's Daughters: The Biography of a Painting is that American artist John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) had no daughters. Nevertheless, this famous 19th-century American expatriate is inextricably linked to his many portraits of children, especially those of his haunting 1882 masterpiece "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit." As Hirshler rightly notes, this latter painting in particular has evoked a variety of deeply-felt emotions and critical comments from viewers over the past 128 years! One female viewer, Hirshler relates, wept for 20 minutes straight, as this painting apparently touched some hidden memory or forgotten experience (good or bad) within her!

In "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit," Sargent captured a fleeting glimpse of the seemingly comfortable life of the four Boit girls, ranging in age from 4-14, as they played in some cavernous room in the stately Boit mansion. The girls' play is interrupted by the presence of the painter, at whom they direct their gaze -- all except the eldest Florence, who glances "knowingly" at one of her sisters. The countenance of the four girls is formal, restrained, and somewhat disquieting. Did the artist intrude upon some secret children's game or private world of play? The slightly "guilty" look of the young girls only adds to the viewer's confusion -- and concern. Sargent subtly heightens the painting's sense of foreboding, moreover, by his use of stark colors, open spaces, and all-consuming shadows. This unsettling mixture of the innocent and the potentially malign only heightens the viewer's fascination over this masterfully conceived and executed portrait.

That an art historian would devote an entire book to the "biography" of a single painting, however, would appear to be the height of tedium or folly! Nevertheless, in Hirshler's skillful hands, the events and persons involved in the production of "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit" become a fascinating study of an artist and his craft. Above all, Hirshler's book is "a story about how the portrait came to be made and what happened after it was finished, both to the people involved and to the object itself..." (Mystery shrouds the later life of the four Boit girls, who never married and were rumored to have gone "crazy!") Additionally, Sargent's Daughters is "an account of how viewers reacted to this unusual picture when it was first displayed and how perceptions of it have changed over time." (This latter aspect sheds considerable light on changing societal norms and perceptions about gender roles in particular!) I highly recommend this absorbing and enlightening study of John Singer Sargent and one of his most notable paintings to all students of art history and historians of America's Gilded Age, feminist scholars, as well as the general public interested in 19th-century America's rich heritage of portraiture. (For this painting as well as many of Singer's other fine portraits, type in "John Singer Sargent" on Google Images.)

Everything was fine - book in good shape - well packaged - came when it was scheduled. All very good