The Metropolitan Museum of Art is currently showcasing a remarkable collection of watercolours by Emily Sargent, sister to the famed Gilded Age portraitist John Singer Sargent, per artnet.com. Titled “Emily Sargent: Portrait of a Family,” the exhibition marks a significant debut for an artist whose works were lost for decades and are only now receiving due recognition.
The exhibit stems from a major 2022 donation by John Singer Sargent’s heirs, which included hundreds of Emily’s paintings found in a forgotten trunk. “There’s a sense of discovery seeing them,” stated Stephanie L. Herdrich, The Met’s curator of American painting and drawing, highlighting the ongoing effort to understand Emily’s artistic process.
These newly rediscovered pieces, many in pristine condition, offer a fresh look at Emily’s experimental techniques and evolving personal style.
The Met’s exhibition will rotate pieces to preserve the delicate watercolours, featuring about 20 of the 26 paintings received in the anonymous gift. This show complements the museum’s “Sargent and Paris” exhibit, offering a broader view of the artistic Sargent family.
Scholars are now delving into Emily’s life, a figure previously overshadowed by her famous brother. The exhibition, running from July 1, 2025, to March 9, 2026, aims to finally bring Emily Sargent’s undeniable talent to the forefront of art history.
- Featured image: John Singer Sargent, In the Generalife (1912). Emily Sargent can be seen at her easel in this painting of gardens of the Generalife palace at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, with fellow artist Jane de Glehn (left) and friend Dolores Carmona (right). Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1915
