Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/644

SARGENT. 578 Society of Plyiiioiitli, and a portrait of Peter Fancuil, in Faneiiil Hall, Boston. SAKGENT, .loHN Singer (1850—). An Anieiiiaii portrait anil iiKure painter, born in Klorciui', Italy. .January 12, 1850. lie took a course of ela.ssieal studies at Florence, where he was al.so enrolled as a pupil of the Academy, and as a youth made studies of the old masters. He traveled extensively with his parents, and at the afje of eij;hteen became the pupil of Carolus Duran in Paris. He speed- ily acijuind many of his master's best qualities, assisting; him in his decoration of the Luxem- l)ourg. into which he intro.luced Duran's por- trait. .■mon<,' his first exhibited pictures "En route pour la pcche" (1878). a group of fisher girls upon the beach, and "Xeapolitan Children Bathing" (1879) attracted much attention. Charming souvenirs of his visit to Spain in 187n, and of the inlhicnce of Velaz<iuez, are the "Smoke of Ambergris" (1880) and "Kl Jalco" (1882. Boston Museum), a Spanisli dance. He continued to reside in Paris, exiiibiting yearly at the Salon, until in 1884 he removed to London, where he has since resided. He has received the highest medals and honors, including the Grand Prix at the Paris expositions of 1880 and 1900. and is a member of tlie National .cademy of Design, the Society of .Vnierican Artists, the Societu Nation- ale des Beaux-Arts, and the Royal Academy: in 1S89 he was made cliovalier. and in 1895 officer of the Legion of Honor. In 1887 and in 1889 he visited the United States, residing chiefly in New York and Boston. Sargent's work is characterized by a singular truth of vision and readiness of hand. He has viewed widely the wliole field of creative art, and has studied with a shreAvd intelligence the metliods and precedents of the past. The mar- velous facility of hand and vivacity of vision that characterize his v.ork seem to be the cimiulative result of the knowledge thus acquired, in con- junction with a constant and conscientious refer- ence to nature. Among the best known of his portraits are those of Carolus Duran and Dr. Pozzi (18791 : a "Young Ladv" (1881) ; "Hall of the Four Chil- dren" (1882); "Madame Gauthereau" (1884); "Carnation Lily, Lily Rose" (1885, South Ken- sington Museum) ; Lady Playfair (1885) ; Henry Marquand (1887. iletropolitan Mu-seuni); Claude Monet (1888): Edwin Booth, Lawrence Barrett, and .Joseph Jefferson, painted for the Players' Club (New York, 1890). He exhibited nine works at the Columbian Exposition (1893), among which were Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth, and the charming portrait of young Homer Saint- Gaudens. His later sitters include Mrs. Meyer and her Children (1897) ; ^Vertheinler, the Lon- don art dealer (1898), and his daughters (1901) : Col. Ian Hamilton (1899) ; Lady Elcho, Mrs. Adcane, and Mrs. Tenant (1900). In 1903 he again visited the Ignited States, portraying President Roosevelt, Secretary Hay, and other notables at Washington, and a" number of persons of Boston. Although chiefly knovn as a portrait painter, Sargent has created figure pieces, like "Carnien- cita" (1890, Luxembourg), of the highest order, and his mural decorations in the Boston Public Xibrary rank with the best work of the kind. He received the latter commission in 1890, and spent the winter of 1891-92 in making preparatory SARGENT. studies in Egypt. In 1892-94 he com])l(ted one of the ends of the great hall now named after him, with such success that his commission was. extended to include the entire hall. The subject represented is the "Pageant of Religion," illus- trating certain stages of Jewish and Christian history. In one end of the hall he has portrayed the triumph of monotheism over the ])olytlicisra of the ancient world, in weird allegorical repre- sentations, even making use of relief. Particu- larly impressive are the figures of the Hebrew ■Prophets' upon the side walls, in which he has created types worthy of comparison with those of Jlichelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. Consult Caflin, American Masters of Paintiny (New York, 1902). SARGENT, Lucius Maxlius (1786-1867). An American author, born in Boston. After gradiniting at Harvard, he studied law. but soon turned his attention to literary and jihilanthrnpic work. For thirty years he lectured on temper- ance, and in the same interest published Tem- perance Tales, a series of twenty-one stories, which began in 1835 and which passed through more than 100 editions. Among his other writ- ings were: Dealings uith the Dead, hy a Sexton of the Old School (1856) ; Reminiscences of Samuel Dexter (1858) ; The IrrepressihJe Conflict (1861); and some poems. Consult Sheppard, I'enu)iiseences of Lucius M. Sargent (1889). SARGENT, Nathan (1794-1875). An American journalist and politician, born at Poult- ne}', Vt. After studying law, lie began to prac- tice at Cahawba, Ala., where in 1816 he was ap- pointed county and probate judge. He lived in BuiTalo from" 1826 to 1830,' when he went to Philadelphia to undertake the publication of a, newspaper in the interest of the ^^'hig Part.y. He afterwards became the Washington corre- spondent of the United States Oazette. writing under the signature of Oliver Oldschool ; was Register of the United States Treasury in 1851- 53, and was Commissioner of Customs from 1861 to 1807. His best known publication is Public Men and Events (1875), a book of character sketches containing some valuable information. SARGENT, WixTHROP (1753-1820). An American soldier and pioneer, born at Gloucester, Mass. He graduated at Harvard in 1771, and during the Revolutionary War served in the patriot artillery, rising to the rank of major. After the close of the war he became interested in Western land schemes, and having been em- plo.ved by Congress as a surveyor in what was afterwards the Northwest Territory, he was, in 1786, elected one of the two delegates from Suf- folk County in Massachusetts chosen to aid in forming the Ohio Company. After its organiza- tion he was chosen secretary and in conjunction with JIanasseh Cutler (q.y. ) purchased land on its behalf. The next .year Congress appointed him Secretary of the Territory. In 1798 he wa* appointed Governor of Mississippi Territory and took up his residence at Natchez. He died while on a vo.ya,ge to Philadelphia. He was one of the authors of Papers Relative to Certain American Antiquities (1776), and in 1803 he published a poem entitled Boston. SARGENT. WiNTHROP (1825-70). An Ameri- can author and lav^-yer. born in Philadelphia. He graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1845, and at the Harvard Law School in 1847»