40°45′54″N 73°58′43″W / 40.7649°N 73.9787°W / 40.7649; -73.9787
127-557: The Sherwood Studio Building was an artists' apartment building at 58 West 57th Street , at the southeast corner with Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) in Midtown Manhattan , New York City. The building was constructed in 1879 as artists' apartments. It was demolished in 1960 to permit the construction of a large apartment building called Hemisphere House. It differed from the other studio buildings of its time in its extent and in
254-972: A break and play the piano for his sitter. Sargent seldom used pencil or oil sketches, and instead laid down oil paint directly. Finally, he would select an appropriate frame. Sargent had no assistants; he handled all the tasks, such as preparing his canvases, varnishing the painting, arranging for photography, shipping, and documentation. He commanded about $ 5,000 per portrait, or about $ 130,000 in current dollars. Some American clients traveled to London at their own expense to have Sargent paint their portrait. The range of pigments regularly used by Sargent was: "Mars yellow (a synthetic iron oxide) and cadmium yellow ; viridian and emerald green, sometimes mixed; vermillion and Mars red , both alone and mixed; madder; synthetic ultramarine or cobalt blue ; and ivory black , sienna and Mars brown". Around 1890, Sargent painted two daring non-commissioned portraits as show pieces—one of actress Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth and one of
381-467: A conditional promise from me years ago that I would plan and build an establishment coming within the means of artists in this country, who have, by the way, to be content with smaller prices than their brethren in Europe, but are, nevertheless, in the receipt of sufficient incomes to live comfortably, even elegantly, in quarters suited to their professional and personal requirements. — John H. Sherman speaking to
508-477: A familiarity with Impressionism . In later life, Sargent expressed ambivalence about the restrictions of formal portrait work and devoted much of his energy to mural painting and working en plein air . Art historians generally ignored society artists such as Sargent until the late 20th century. The exhibition in the 1980s of Sargent's previously hidden male nudes served to spark a reevaluation of his life and work, and its psychological complexity. In addition to
635-535: A family firm when they came of age. In 1916, a news account said she was "known in the hotel world as one of the most capable managers in the country and among real estate operators as one who has made a fortune in her tradings." In 1921, a realty company controlled by William Randolph Hearst bought the building in a deal valued at $ 1,000,000. Hearst's real estate dealings were influenced by Arthur Brisbane , whose career paralleled Hearst's in newspaper and property operations. Brisbane had begun his news career in 1882 as
762-498: A grocery chain called Acker, Merrall & Condit which rented the Sherwood's corner store. In 1913, one of the city's few female hotel owners and real estate speculators, Jennie K. Stafford, acquired the building in a trade worth $ 750,000. Stafford had begun her career by inheritance on the death of her husband, Robert Stafford. She subsequently pursued it by herself while her two sons were growing to maturity and then served as president of
889-657: A highly literate and cosmopolitan young man, accomplished in art, music, and literature. He was fluent in English, French, Italian, and German. At seventeen, Sargent was described as "willful, curious, determined and strong" (after his mother) yet shy, generous, and modest (after his father). He was well-acquainted with many of the great masters from first-hand observation, as he wrote in 1874: "I have learned in Venice to admire Tintoretto immensely and to consider him perhaps second only to Michelangelo and Titian ." An attempt to study at
1016-486: A major part in his social life as well, as he was a skillful accompanist of both amateur and professional musicians. Sargent became a strong advocate for modern composers, especially Gabriel Fauré . Trips to Italy provided sketches and ideas for several Venetian street-scene genre paintings , which effectively captured gestures and postures he would find useful in later portraiture. Upon his return to Paris, Sargent quickly received several portrait commissions. His career
1143-483: A negative reaction that it likely prompted Sargent's move to London. Sargent's self-confidence had led him to attempt a risqué experiment in portraiture—but this time it unexpectedly backfired. The painting was not commissioned by her, and he pursued her for the opportunity, quite unlike most of his portrait work where clients sought him out. Sargent wrote to a common acquaintance: I have a great desire to paint her portrait and have reason to think she would allow it and
1270-433: A painting in this style that prompted comments such as: "The student has surpassed the teacher." This approach also permitted spontaneous flourishes of color not bound to an underdrawing . It was markedly different from the traditional atelier of Jean-Léon Gérôme , where Americans Thomas Eakins and Julian Alden Weir had studied. Sargent was the star student in short order. Weir met Sargent in 1874 and noted that Sargent
1397-464: A party in his studio, and a few years after that the same artist hosted an "infants party" that required all guests to come dressed as children. Invitations to these high jinks were said to be avidly sought after as opportunities for non-artists to glimpse a "rarefied Bohemia". The building's invitation-only social events figured in popular literature. In a 1903 short story, a young lady asks a gentleman friend to escort her to an "artists' frolic" saying she
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#17328522828411524-483: A portrait of Henry Gurdon Marquand . Marquand served as the second president of the museum, and was instrumental in its founding. In 1888, Sargent released his portrait of Alice Vanderbilt Shepard , great-granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt . Many of his most important works are in museums in the United States. In 1897, a friend sponsored a famous portrait in oil of Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes , by Sargent, as
1651-631: A portrait of four members of the Curtis family in their elegant palatial home, Palazzo Barbaro , was a resounding success. But, Whistler did not approve of the looseness of Sargent's brushwork, which he summed up as "smudge everywhere". One of Sargent's last major portraits in his bravura style was that of Lord Ribblesdale , in 1902, finely attired in an elegant hunting uniform. Between 1900 and 1907, Sargent continued his high productivity, which included, in addition to dozens of oil portraits, hundreds of portrait drawings at about $ 400 each. In 1901, he purchased
1778-456: A portrait painter in the grand manner, Sargent had unmatched success; he portrayed subjects who were at once ennobled and often possessed of nervous energy. Sargent was referred to as "the Van Dyck of our times". Although Sargent was an American expatriate, he returned to the United States many times, often to answer the demand for commissioned portraits. Sargent exhibited nine of his portraits in
1905-470: A professional artist in 1887–88 produced over 20 important commissions, including portraits of Isabella Stewart Gardner , the famed Boston art patron. His portrait of Mrs. Adrian Iselin, wife of a New York businessman , revealed her character in one of his most insightful works. In Boston, Sargent was honored with his first solo exhibition, which presented 22 of his paintings. Here he became friends with painter Dennis Miller Bunker , who traveled to England in
2032-448: A quiet life with their children. They generally avoided society and other Americans, except for friends in the art world. Four more children were born abroad, of whom only two lived past childhood. Although his father was a patient teacher of basic subjects, young Sargent was a rambunctious child, more interested in outdoor activities than his studies. As his father wrote home: "He is quite a close observer of animated nature." His mother
2159-534: A reporter for the New York Sun and, since John H. Sherwood had helped found the Sun and served for many years on the newspaper's board of directors, it is reasonably likely that at the beginning of Brisbane's career the two men had become acquainted with one another. Following World War I, the block of 57th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue transitioned from residential to commercial as speculators bought and transformed
2286-558: A reporter in May 1879. The Sherwood Studio Building was located in the southeast corner of 57th Street where it meets Sixth Avenue. 57th Street was designated by the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 that established the Manhattan street grid as one of 15 east-west streets that would be 100 ft (30 m) in width (while other streets were designated as 60 ft (18 m) in width). Following
2413-431: A reporter that the lofts that some artists had begun using in parts of the city were not an appropriate alternative to studio apartment buildings like the Sherwood for women artists and artists with families. Although long-term tenancies rarely made the news, quite a few artists lived and worked in the building for relatively long periods. For example, the portraitist, Jessie Voss Lewis, had been living there for 15 years by
2540-440: A sale. The artist tenants did not voice complaints about the building in the local press, however, Carroll Beckwith did use his diary to record that Sherwood antagonized all the workers he employed, "grinding them down to the last cent". Beckwith also alleged that Sherwood would buy a painting from a tenant and then raise the rent by the amount of the purchase. Noting Sherwood's financial success in constructing and fully tenanting
2667-502: A skyscraper for the Calvary Baptist Church was erected at 123 West 57th Street between 1929 and 1930. On East 57th Street, several luxury apartment buildings were also developed. Starting in the 2010s, quite a few very tall ultra-luxury residential buildings have been constructed or proposed on the stretch of West 57th Street between Eighth and Park Avenues, which is largely within two blocks of Central Park. The first of these
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#17328522828412794-503: A small city park overlooking the East River just east of Sutton Place. The street was designated by the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 that established the Manhattan street grid as one of 15 east-west streets that would be 100 feet (30 m) in width (while other streets were designated as 60 feet (18 m) in width). Throughout its history, 57th Street has contained high-end housing and retail, as well as artistic uses. 57th Street
2921-556: A small park overlooking the East River in the east to the West Side Highway along the Hudson River in the west. 57th Street runs through the Midtown Manhattan neighborhoods of Sutton Place , Billionaire's Row , and Hell's Kitchen from east to west. 57th Street was created according to the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 and was developed as a mainly residential street in the mid-19th century. The central portion of 57th Street
3048-414: A successful career as a portrait artist. From the beginning, Sargent's work is characterized by remarkable technical facility, particularly in his ability to draw with a brush, which in later years inspired admiration as well as criticism for its supposed superficiality. His commissioned works were consistent with the grand manner of portraiture, while his informal studies and landscape paintings displayed
3175-467: A ten-year lease of the corner store and its basement for $ 6,250 a year. With an 80 ft (24 m) frontage on 57th Street and a 60 ft (18 m) frontage on Sixth Avenue, the store was the largest as well as the choicest location on the building's ground floor. Established in 1820, Acker, Merrall & Condit was a well-known and successful grocery chain. The firm operated a wholesale business as well as retail stores and specialized, as an article in
3302-497: A wedding gift. Jean Zimmerman documents the creation of the Stokes portrait in her dual biography of the couple, Love, Fiercely . In 1898, Asher Wertheimer, a wealthy Jewish art dealer living in London, commissioned from Sargent a series of a dozen portraits of his family, the artist's largest commission from a single patron. The Wertheimer portraits reveal a pleasant familiarity between
3429-427: Is an example of an artist who lived in the building during the first two decades of the 20th century. During the 1920s, Floyd MacMillan Davis (1896–1966), an illustrator, and his wife, Gladys Rockmore Davis (1901–1967), a figure, landscape, and portrait painter. Ilse Bischoff (1901–1990), illustrator, printmaker, and painter, lived there in the 1930s. A few residents who continue to be well known in
3556-445: Is determined to "do something desperate". It does not matter that her aunt will be completely shocked because, she says, "I am simply crazy for an evening of careless, happy-go-lucky fun". Artists would also hold late-night parties on the spur of the moment, including, according to one investigator, "dances, card games, concerts, or boozy salons". Evening meals in the restaurant were social occasions as well. Originally located just above
3683-538: Is given as an appendix to an article that appeared in the Archives of American Art Journal in 1996. 57th Street (Manhattan) 57th Street is a broad thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan , one of the major two-way, east-west streets in the borough's grid . As with Manhattan's other “crosstown” streets, it is divided into its east and west sections at Fifth Avenue . The street runs from
3810-579: Is home to the city-owned performance venue Carnegie Hall . The mid-block between Seventh and Sixth Avenues is a terminus of a north-south pedestrian avenue named Sixth and a Half Avenue . East of Sixth Avenue, the street is home to numerous high-end retail establishments including the Tiffany & Co. flagship store and the Bergdorf Goodman Building . The stores located at 57th Street's intersections with Fifth and Madison Avenues occupy some of
3937-528: Is matched in this only by Velázquez, who was one of Sargent's great influences. The Spanish master's spell is apparent in Sargent's The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit , 1882, a haunting interior that echoes Velázquez's Las Meninas . As in many of his early portraits, Sargent confidently tries different approaches with each new challenge, here employing both unusual composition and lighting to striking effect. One of his most widely exhibited and best loved works of
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4064-495: Is notable for prestigious art galleries, restaurants and up-market shops. The first block of 57th Street, at its western end at Twelfth Avenue near the Hudson River waterfront, is home to the VIA 57 West building, designed in the form of a triangular pyramid by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels . From there to Tenth Avenue are low-rise industrial properties, several automobile dealerships, and small-scale residential buildings. Much of
4191-415: Is waiting for someone to propose this homage to her beauty. ...you might tell her that I am a man of prodigious talent. It took well over a year to complete the painting. The first version of the portrait of Madame Gautreau, with the famously plunging neckline, white-powdered skin, and arrogantly cocked head, featured an intentionally suggestive off-the-shoulder dress strap, on her right side only, which made
4318-399: The N , Q , R , and W trains. The following bus routes serve 57th Street: The following high-end stores can be found between Sixth Avenue and Park Avenue : John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent ( / ˈ s ɑːr dʒ ən t / ; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered
4445-474: The Academy of Florence failed, as the school was reorganizing at the time. After returning to Paris from Florence, Sargent began his art studies with the young French portraitist Carolus-Duran . Following a meteoric rise, the artist was noted for his bold technique and modern teaching methods; his influence would be pivotal to Sargent during the period from 1874 to 1878. In 1874, Sargent passed on his first attempt
4572-482: The New York Times stated, "in the finest grades of fancy groceries, both imported and domestic, as well as wines, liquors, and cigars." The shop's commercial prominence may be indicated by the use of the firm's name to designate the whole building in a real estate atlas of 1885. Despite the negative impact of U.S. Prohibition on its wine and spirits business, the company prospered in the 1920s. The continuing value of
4699-649: The Palace of Fine Arts at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Sargent painted a series of three portraits of Robert Louis Stevenson . The second, Portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson and his Wife (1885), was one of his best known. He also completed portraits of two U.S. presidents: Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson . In 1896, the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art commissioned Sargent to produce
4826-522: The Panic of 1873 as financial confidence increased and low-interest loans became more readily available while at the same time the cost of labor and materials remained relatively low. Over a period of some 12 months between 1879 and 1880, Sherwood was able to construct the building at a cost, in cash, of about $ 260,000. Some months after it was completed he took out a mortgage of $ 150,000 and a few years later borrowed another $ 50,000. When he began accepting tenants,
4953-605: The Royal Academy . These included the portraits of Dr. Pozzi at Home (1881), a flamboyant essay in red and his first full-length male portrait, and the more traditional Mrs. Henry White (1883). The ensuing portrait commissions encouraged Sargent to complete his move to London in 1886, where he settled in the artistic community of Chelsea . Notwithstanding the Madame X scandal, he had considered moving to London as early as 1882; he had been urged to do so repeatedly by his new friend,
5080-543: The Salon , and gaining commissions to earn a livelihood. Sargent's first major portrait was of his friend Fanny Watts in 1877, and was also his first Salon admission. Its particularly well-executed pose drew attention. His second salon entry was the Oyster Gatherers of Cançale , an impressionistic painting of which he made two copies, one of which he sent back to the United States, and both received warm reviews. In 1879 at
5207-556: The "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings. His oeuvre documents worldwide travel, from Venice to the Tyrol , Corfu , Spain, the Middle East, Montana , Maine , and Florida . Born in Florence to American parents, he
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5334-499: The 1880s was Lady with the Rose (1882), a portrait of Charlotte Burckhardt, a close friend and possible romantic attachment. His most controversial work, Portrait of Madame X ( Madame Pierre Gautreau ) (1884) is now considered one of his best works and was his favorite; he stated in 1915: "I suppose it is the best thing I have done." When unveiled in Paris at the 1884 Salon, it aroused such
5461-591: The 21st century include Robert Henri , Al Hirschfeld , and Augustus Saint-Gaudens The building's women artists were also generally well known during their lives but have not retained their reputations into the 21st century. Of the many women artists who took up tenancies during the early years, these few stand as examples: Eleanor Greatorex (from 1880), Helen Corson Hovenden (from 1882), Cecile de Wentworth (from 1883), Rhoda Holmes Nicholls (from 1884), Maria Matilda Brooks (from 1887), and Maria a'Becket (from 1888). A relatively comprehensive list of early tenants
5588-546: The 57th Street location is indicated by the $ 40,000 the firm paid for lease renewal in 1925. However, neither the company nor its shop in the Sherwood Studio Building could survive the Great Depression . In 1932, Acker, Morrell & Condit declared bankruptcy and in 1933, the court-appointed receiver sold the shop and all of the company's other assets. The Romanoff Caviar company purchased its goodwill , including
5715-507: The American artists abroad. Sargent also took some lessons from Léon Bonnat . Carolus-Duran's atelier was progressive, dispensing with the traditional academic approach, which required careful drawing and underpainting, in favor of the alla prima method of working directly on the canvas with a loaded brush, derived from Diego Velázquez . It was an approach that relied on the proper placement of tones of paint. Sargent would later create
5842-576: The Edge of a Wood is rendered in his own version of the Impressionist style. In the 1880s, he attended the Impressionist exhibitions and he began to paint outdoors in the plein-air manner after that visit to Monet. Sargent purchased four Monet works for his personal collection during that time. Sargent was similarly inspired to do a portrait of his artist friend Paul César Helleu , also painting outdoors with his wife by his side. A photograph very similar to
5969-521: The Gothic palaces of railroad kings". The area to the west contained townhouses, some of which were known as New York City's "choicest" residences. On East 57th Street, there were homes interspersed with structures built for the arts. An artistic hub developed around the two blocks of West 57th Street from Sixth Avenue to Broadway during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, following the opening of Carnegie Hall in 1891. Artists' studio apartments, such as
6096-576: The Rembrandt at 152 West 57th Street and the Sherwood Studios at 58 West 57th Street, both since demolished, were developed on the south side of the street to take advantage of light from the north, while the Osborne Apartments were built diagonally across Carnegie Hall to provide soundproof residences for musicians. On the south side of the street, other artists' studio apartments were erected in
6223-478: The Sherwood Studio Building attracted as its tenants those relatively mature New York artists whose careers had flourished during the last third of the 19th century. Many of the men in this group had met each other in Paris when, in common with many other American artists of the period, they sought to increase the sophistication of their work by exposure to European Beaux-Arts influences. The prices they received for their paintings and sculptures were generally lower than
6350-507: The Spanish expatriate model Carmela Bertagna, but the earlier pictures had not been intended for broad public reception. Sargent kept the painting prominently displayed in his London studio until he sold it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1916 after moving to the United States, and a few months after Gautreau's death. Before arriving in England, Sargent began sending paintings for exhibition at
6477-538: The admiration of English patrons and critics. Henry James also gave the artist "a push to the best of my ability". Sargent spent much time painting outdoors in the English countryside when not in his studio. On a visit to Monet at Giverny in 1885, Sargent painted one of his most Impressionistic portraits, of Monet at work painting outdoors with his new bride nearby. Sargent is usually not thought of as an Impressionist painter, but he sometimes used impressionistic techniques to great effect. His Claude Monet Painting at
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#17328522828416604-464: The age of 23, Sargent painted a portrait of his teacher Carolus-Duran; the virtuoso effort met with public approval and announced the direction his mature work would take. Its showing at the Paris Salon was both a tribute to his teacher and an advertisement for portrait commissions. Of Sargent's early work, Henry James wrote that the artist offered "the slightly 'uncanny' spectacle of a talent which on
6731-400: The amenities it offered. It was taller than most, with great floor-to-ceiling windows, many of which gathered northern light across an unusually broad street. In addition to spacious studios, its apartments contained bedrooms, bathrooms, and reception rooms. Each apartment had central heating, gas light, and, for internal communication, electric bells and speaking tubes . The building's elevator
6858-419: The area measured 25 by 100 ft (7.6 by 30.5 m), a real estate practice that had begun during colonial times. Vacant lots could be bought and sold individually or in contiguous groups of two, three, or four. Representative sales in the 1870s show lots on 57th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues selling for about $ 25,000 each. In 1871, a man named William Sloan paid $ 88,000 to Frederick Hornby to purchase
6985-622: The artist and his subjects. Even though Wertheimer bequeathed most of the paintings to the National Gallery, nowadays they are on display at the Tate Britain. By 1900, Sargent was at the height of his fame. Cartoonist Max Beerbohm completed one of his seventeen caricatures of Sargent, making well known to the public the artist's paunchy physique. Although only in his forties, Sargent began to travel more and to devote relatively less time to portrait painting. His An Interior in Venice (1900),
7112-430: The artists and students, with such leaders of New York City as were interested in the then newer movement in American art". The artist tenants of the Sherwood Studio Building soon became known for the parties they gave. An 1889 photo showed artist tenants at a costume party held in one of the studios. A year later, an artist caused a minor sensation when he arranged for the Spanish dancer known as Carmencita to perform at
7239-655: The attendance of "crowds of swell people", adding that his studio was "jammed". In 1910, the British artist, Robert J. Wickenden, recalled a visit to a Sherwood reception: "Among my early recollections of the Sherwood Studios was the attending of a reception held simultaneously by all the artists in the building during the winter of 1880-81; ... [O]n the top floor, amid a number of brilliant portraits, and some fresh studies from Velasquez, James Carroll Beckwith, more widely known as "Carroll Beckwith", received his numerous friends among
7366-493: The beauty, sensation and innovation of his oeuvre, his same-sex interests, unconventional friendships with women and engagement with race, gender nonconformity and emerging globalism are now viewed as socially and aesthetically progressive and radical. Sargent was a descendant of Epes Sargent , a colonial military leader and jurist. Before John Singer Sargent's birth, his father, FitzWilliam (b. 1820 in Gloucester, Massachusetts ),
7493-533: The block to the west. William B. Bishop, a banker and stockbroker, built one of the first, a brownstone at number 10. An 1876 directory gives addresses on the block for bankers John Ellis and John S. Kennedy ; merchants John Auchincloss, Richard R. Haines, Caleb Marsh, and James Talcot; importer Sigmund Housman; lawyers Frederick W. Stevens and Stephen Benton Elkins ; manufacturer Henry T. Sloane ; and politicians Edwin Einstein and Samuel B. H. Vance . At that time,
7620-464: The block's best-known residents were two branches of the Roosevelt family, one headed by James A. Roosevelt and the other by Theodore Roosevelt Sr., President Theodore Roosevelt 's father. A directory of 1881 adds the names of other prominent citizens including merchant Augustus D. Juilliard , financier William Bayard Cutting , and banker Jacob Schiff . The intersection of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue
7747-566: The block's mansions into upscale retail establishments. A real estate specialist was quoted in 1922 as saying 57th Street was "the greatest street in New York". As the transformation to fashionable shopping district proceeded, reporters began referring to the block as " Rue de la Paix of New York" or "the Rue de la Paix of America". Furthermore, after about 1921, art galleries started to supplant residences on 57th Street, and other art galleries developed on
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#17328522828417874-401: The block's mansions into upscale retail establishments. A real estate specialist was quoted in 1922 as saying 57th was "the greatest street in New York". As the transformation to fashionable shopping district proceeded, reporters began referring to the block as " Rue de la Paix of New York" or "the Rue de la Paix of America". By 1937 the Sherwood, then one of the oldest buildings in the vicinity,
8001-520: The building was deemed New York's "uptown headquarters of Art". So many of its tenants had been students together that a social gathering could feel, one said, like a "reunion of old friends". In succeeding decades, the building would also attract a growing number of non-artists who appreciated the artistic ambiance and found the large studio rooms ideal for entertaining guests. At a time when there were few commercial art galleries and when those few did not routinely show American art, New York artists adopted
8128-424: The building's design was not far from the plans he had outlined to a reporter at the outset. The structure was seven stories high and almost exactly a square (100 ft (30 m) on Sixth Avenue and 95 ft (29 m) on 57th Street. Considered by a contemporary to have a plain facade with "no extraneous ornament", its exterior walls were made of red brick accompanied by stone and iron elements. The ground floor
8255-628: The building, to his wife and daughter. As its new owners, they proved to be no less conscientious in managing it than he had been. In 1890, mother and daughter sued the owners of the Sixth Avenue elevated railway that ran beside the building's west side, claiming that the railway's noise and the debris it produced depressed their rental income. Back in 1877, an article in The New York Times had judged that train running on elevated tracks and giving frequent service from Lower Manhattan up to Central Park
8382-594: The celebrated self-portrait collection of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. Sargent made several summer visits to the Swiss Alps with his sisters Emily Sargent , an accomplished painter in her own right, and Violet Sargent (Mrs Ormond) and also Violet's daughters Rose-Marie and Reine, who were the subject of a number of paintings between 1906 and 1913 like The Black Brook (1908) or Nonchaloir (Repose) (1911). By
8509-479: The client's home to see where the painting was to hang. He would often review a client's wardrobe to pick suitable attire. Some portraits were done in the client's home, but more often in his studio, which was well-stocked with furniture and background materials he chose for proper effect. He usually required eight to ten sittings from his clients, although he would try to capture the face in one sitting. He usually kept up pleasant conversation and sometimes he would take
8636-616: The core of Midtown Manhattan, the street is dominated by very large commercial and residential towers, such as at the Hearst Tower at the southwest corner of 57th Street and Eighth Avenue. This stretch of 57th Street is home to several large hotels such as Le Parker Meridien and well-known restaurants such as the Russian Tea Room (both between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue ), and to the offices of several magazines including The Economist . The corner of 57th Street and Seventh Avenue
8763-429: The criticism, but refused to alter his negative opinions of modern art. He retorted: " Ingres , Raphael and El Greco , these are now my admirations, these are what I like." Sometime between 1917 and 1920, Sargent painted the portrait of Thomas E. McKeller, a young African-American elevator operator and WWI veteran. The canvas was kept in the painter's studio until his death and only began to be displayed permanently to
8890-500: The design and construction of the Sherwood Studio Building, he said that "such men as Coleman and Church" had convinced him to undertake the project, meaning the artists Charles Caryl Coleman and Frederic Edwin Church . His aim, as he put it, was to "plan and build an establishment coming within the means of artists in this country, who have, by the way, to be content with smaller prices than their brethren in Europe, but are, nevertheless, in
9017-638: The early 20th century, such as 130 West 57th Street , 140 West 57th Street , and Rodin Studios . West 57th Street also served as the headquarters of organizations such as the Lotos Club , Architectural League of New York , Art Students League of New York , Louis H. Chalif Normal School of Dancing at 165 West 57th Street , and Society of American Artists . Following World War I , the block of 57th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues transitioned from residential to commercial as speculators bought and transformed
9144-492: The figure of a unicorn rearing as on a heraldic coat of arms or perhaps the work of some oriental decorative artist to whom the human form is forbidden and who, wishing to be reminded of woman, has drawn the delicious arabesque ? No, it is none of these things, but rather the precise image of a modern woman scrupulously drawn by a painter who is a master of his art. Prior to the Madame X scandal of 1884, Sargent had painted exotic beauties such as Rosina Ferrara of Capri and
9271-508: The first, a brownstone at number 10. Others soon followed. At that time, the block's best-known residents were two branches of the Roosevelt family, one headed by James A. Roosevelt and the other by Theodore Roosevelt Sr. (the latter being the father of President Theodore Roosevelt ). A directory of 1881 adds the names of other prominent citizens including merchant Augustus D. Juilliard , financier William Bayard Cutting , and banker Jacob Schiff . The intersection of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue
9398-508: The four lots on which the Sherwood Studio Building would be constructed. A year later, Sloan sold the lots to Gardner G. Yevelin for $ 115,000. In 1874, the man who designed and constructed the building bought them from Yevelin for $ 130,000. Sloan, Hornby, and Yevelin were all men who bought and sold real estate in New York. The man who bought the four lots was John H. Sherwood (1816-1887). At the age of 40, Sherwood had begun buying and selling city real estate. He succeeded to such an extent that at
9525-523: The ground floor, the restaurant was moved down to the rear of two stores that faced Sixth Avenue in 1881. In 1910, a gossip columnist said the restaurant was the place to meet the "painting gang". "They are nearly all of a kind", he wrote, "and as a rule exhibit at the Academy". In his journal, one tenant recalled that "there is little occasion for a club; we sit at table each night a party". Artists were expected to treat their table companions to wine when they made
9652-594: The highly-regarded painting, "In the Luxembourg Gardens", of 1879 and works by Homer included the famous " Snap the Whip " of 1872. Sherwood had supported his great-nephew, Carroll Beckwith , when he arrived in New York from Chicago in 1871 and had soon become acquainted with William Merritt Chase along with Sargent and Homer and others of Beckwith's artist friends. As well as trading in real estate lots, Sherwood designed and constructed buildings. In an 1879 interview about
9779-577: The impact these towers will have on the surrounding neighborhoods and the shadows they will cast on Central Park. The 57th Street station on the New York City Subway 's IND Sixth Avenue Line is located at the intersection of 57th Street and Sixth Avenue and is served by the F and <F> train. The 57th Street – Seventh Avenue station on the BMT Broadway Line is located at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue , served by
9906-578: The largest rooms. Between them and a central hallway were reception rooms, one or two bedrooms, and bathrooms, all of them windowless. There were initially no provisions for cooking, however, some apartments were modified in later decades to include kitchenettes and, at least in one case, a full kitchen. Leases were required of all tenants. Rents varied by size and location of apartments—higher for corner apartments, apartments facing 57th Street, and apartments on upper floors. The combination of studio and residence in one apartment, including private bathroom,
10033-541: The merchants in buildings that lay adjacent to its route. During its first few months of operation, all the trains serving Sixth Avenue ran on the tracks outside the west side of the building, but in 1879, new tracks connecting the Sixth Avenue Line with the Ninth Avenue Line left the northern section of the line between 50th and 58th Streets as a spur, having much-reduced service by single-car shuttles. Despite
10160-534: The mid-1920s, two major piano showrooms, Chickering Hall and Steinway Hall, were developed on West 57th Street, as was the Russian Tea Room . Other commercial tenants started moving onto 57th Street, including Henri Bendel in 1912, Bergdorf Goodman in 1928, Bonwit Teller in 1930, FAO Schwarz in 1931, and Tiffany & Co. in 1940. Furthermore, the Hearst Magazine Building was constructed at Eighth Avenue and 57th Street between 1927 and 1928, while
10287-527: The most expensive real estate in the world. Commercial and retail buildings continue to dominate until Third Avenue , where the street rapidly returns to a preponderance of large residential buildings. As it continues from here through its final blocks leading to its terminus at Sutton Place , the street consists of a nearly unbroken stretch of increasingly upscale apartment buildings with doormen, awnings, and small commercial establishments such as drug stores, bank branches, and restaurants. 57th Street ends at
10414-411: The name, and the original business ceased to exist. It was a wonderful building, because models walked up and down the aisle, knocked on the door, asked if you wanted a model. So, you were never short of models— Black, Chinese, Japanese, White, everything. It was wonderful. -- Ilse Bischoff in an oral history interview, January 1982. When it opened and for the first few decades of its existence,
10541-500: The next door property to his home in Tite Street , to create a larger studio. In 1907, at the age of fifty-one, Sargent officially closed his studio. Relieved, he stated: "Painting a portrait would be quite amusing if one were not forced to talk while working.... What a nuisance having to entertain the sitter and to look happy when one feels wretched." In that same year, Sargent painted his modest and serious self-portrait, his last, for
10668-427: The novelist Henry James . In retrospect his transfer to London may be seen to have been inevitable. English critics were not warm at first, faulting Sargent for his "clever" "Frenchified" handling of paint. One reviewer seeing his portrait of Mrs. Henry White described his technique as "hard" and "almost metallic" with "no taste in expression, air, or modeling". With help from Mrs. White, however, Sargent soon gained
10795-406: The overall effect more daring and sensual. Sargent repainted the strap to its expected over-the-shoulder position to try to dampen the furor, but the damage had been done. French commissions dried up and he told his friend Edmund Gosse in 1885 that he contemplated giving up painting for music or business. Writing of the reaction of visitors, Judith Gautier observed: Is it a woman? a chimera,
10922-487: The painting suggests that Sargent occasionally used photography as an aid to composition. Through Helleu, Sargent met and painted the famed French sculptor Auguste Rodin in 1884, a rather somber portrait reminiscent of works by Thomas Eakins . Although the British critics classified Sargent in the Impressionist camp, the French Impressionists thought otherwise. As Monet later stated: "He is not an Impressionist in
11049-419: The plan, the street was laid out and opened in 1857. However, more than a decade later, the block of the street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues was still mostly undeveloped and noted for its boulders and deep ravines where squatters lived in shanties. That changed in the mid-1870s when wealthy New Yorkers began to put up large family residences on the block. William B. Bishop, a banker and stockbroker, built one of
11176-452: The popular Spanish dancer La Carmencita . Sargent was elected an associate of the Royal Academy , and was made a full member three years later. In the 1890s, he averaged fourteen portrait commissions per year, none more beautiful than the genteel Lady Agnew of Lochnaw , 1892. His portrait of Mrs. Hugh Hammersley ( Mrs. Hugh Hammersley , 1892) was equally well received for its lively depiction of one of London's most notable hostesses. As
11303-483: The practice of opening their studios to draw in prospective customers. Sherwood artists coordinated with each other, opening their studios to the public, generally on Thursdays and Saturdays, in hopes of generating sales. They sent out hundreds of invitations and drew so many visitors that at least on one occasion they had to announce that "only those persons who have received cards of invitation will be expected". Regarding one reception, Carroll Beckwith recorded in his diary
11430-807: The prices paid for the work of established European artists, but they were nonetheless sufficient for them to live comfortably. Although many of the men and women who lived in the building were widely collected in their time, however, few retained substantial reputations into the 21st century. Examples of late 19th century residents who were once popular include John Henry Dolph (1835–1903), known for landscapes and pictures of pet dogs and kittens; Adolfo Müller-Ury (1862–1947), known for portraits and still lifes; Francis Coates Jones (1857–1932), known for floral, figure, and mural painting; and Ralph Albert Blakelock (1847–1919), known for landscapes and portraits. May Wilson Preston (1873–1949), an illustrator and painter of figures and landscapes,
11557-643: The public in 1986 when it was acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston . McKeller also posed as a model for the mythological murals that Sargent painted at the stairway and the rotunda of the MFA Boston and for the World War I memorial murals at Harvard's Widener Library . In 1925, shortly before he died, Sargent painted his last oil portrait, a canvas of aristocrat Grace Curzon, Marchioness Curzon of Kedleston . The painting
11684-412: The receipt of sufficient incomes to live comfortably, even elegantly, in quarters suited to their professional and personal requirements". He hoped his artist tenants would form a "sort of exclusive colony" to which none would be admitted who were "likely to prove offensive members of the general body politic". During the late 1870s, real estate construction experienced dramatic growth as the recovery from
11811-498: The reduction in service and attendant reduction in noise, smoke, and debris, the owners of the Sherwood Studio Building were successful in their suit against the owners of the railway for loss of income resulting from the line. In 1924, the spur was removed, leaving an open avenue outside the Studio Building. In 1909, the Sherwood family sold the building to one of the ground-floor commercial tenants, Harry J. Luce, then president of
11938-450: The rigorous exam required to gain admission to the École des Beaux-Arts , the premier art school in France. He took drawing classes, which included anatomy and perspective, and gained a silver prize. He also spent much time in self-study, drawing in museums and painting in a studio he shared with James Carroll Beckwith . He became both a valuable friend and Sargent's primary connection with
12065-489: The sea and at mountain resorts in France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. While Mary was pregnant, they stopped in Florence , Tuscany, because of a cholera epidemic. Sargent was born there in 1856. A year later, his sister Mary was born. After her birth, FitzWilliam reluctantly resigned his post in Philadelphia and accepted his wife's request to remain abroad. They lived modestly on a small inheritance and savings, leading
12192-431: The sea might lead him toward a naval career. At thirteen, his mother reported that John "sketches quite nicely, & has a remarkably quick and correct eye. If we could afford to give him really good lessons, he would soon be quite a little artist". At the age of thirteen, he received some watercolor lessons from Carl Welsch , a German landscape painter. Although his education was far from complete, Sargent grew up to be
12319-614: The sense that we use the word, he is too much under the influence of Carolus-Duran." Sargent's first major success at the Royal Academy of Arts came in 1887, with the enthusiastic response to Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose , a large piece, painted on site, of two young girls lighting lanterns in an English garden in Broadway in the Cotswolds . The painting was immediately purchased by the Tate Gallery . His first trip to New York and Boston as
12446-492: The south side of the block between Eleventh and Tenth Avenues is occupied by the CBS Broadcast Center , which is the network's primary East Coast production facility. The street's name was used by CBS to title a newsmagazine program produced by the network in the late 1980s, West 57th . From Tenth Avenue to Eighth Avenue , larger residential buildings appear. Beginning at Eighth Avenue and continuing east through
12573-552: The street in general. For instance, the Fuller Building at 41 East 57th Street has traditionally contained many galleries since its completion in 1929. During the early 20th century, many of the original townhouses on East 57th Street were rebuilt as art galleries. Interior decorators also moved to the area, converting existing houses or erecting new structures such as the Todhunter Building at 119 East 57th Street. During
12700-479: The studio building on 57th Street, other builders put up even more lavish establishments and their success, in turn, resulted in a gradual loss of the building's standing as the premier location for those artists who could afford the rents. Nonetheless, demand for the apartments remained strong during the succeeding decades before its demolition. It simply became a quieter place for artists to live and work in. In 1887, Sherwood died, leaving most of his estate, including
12827-416: The summer of 1888 to paint with him en plein air, and is the subject of Sargent's 1888 painting Dennis Miller Bunker Painting at Calcot . Back in London, Sargent was quickly busy again. His working methods were by then well-established, following many of the steps employed by other master portrait painters before him. After securing a commission through negotiations which he carried out, Sargent would visit
12954-400: The time Sargent finished his portrait of John D. Rockefeller in 1917, most critics began to consign him to the masters of the past, "a brilliant ambassador between his patrons and posterity". Modernists treated him more harshly, considering him completely out of touch with the reality of American life and with emerging artistic trends including Cubism and Futurism . Sargent quietly accepted
13081-534: The time including hot and cold water, electric bells, speaking tubes, gas (for illumination), and central heating. There was also a restaurant for tenants' use. When it opened in the Spring of 1880, the building was said to dominate all the houses in its vicinity. Writing in 1910, an observer said the building looked "almost as fresh as when it was erected, its precise lines testifying to an exceptional thoroughness of construction". The studios, with their great windows, were
13208-770: The time of his death his property was estimated to be worth all of $ 2 million, an amount roughly equal to $ 55 million in the dollars of 2021 according to the Consumer Price Index inflation calculator. As his wealth grew, Sherwood expanded his interests to include insurance, banking, and political activism. He also acquired a large collection of paintings many of which he had commissioned from the artists who made them. Like other American art patrons of his time, he bought paintings by established European artists, but, unlike them, he also bought from young and relatively impecunious American artists, including John Singer Sargent and Winslow Homer . Works by Sargent in his collection included
13335-436: The time she was interviewed in 1935. Another woman, Margery Ryerson , lived there from 1924 to 1960 and a third, Ilse Bischoff , lived there for about 25 years beginning in 1930. Sherwood's great-nephew, Carroll Beckwith, was one of the building's first artist tenants. Having moved in before the building's formal opening in 1879, he continued to rent for three decades until his departure in 1910. The painter, Robert Van Boskerck,
13462-530: The very threshold of its career has nothing more to learn". After leaving Carolus-Duran's atelier, Sargent visited Spain. There he studied the paintings of Velázquez with a passion, absorbing the master's technique, and in his travels gathered ideas for future works. He was entranced with Spanish music and dance. The trip also re-awakened his own talent for music (which was nearly equal to his artistic talent), and which found visual expression in his early masterpiece El Jaleo (1882). Music would continue to play
13589-447: Was One57 , a 1,004-foot (306 m) apartment building between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, which was completed in 2014. Due to the often record-breaking prices that have been set for the apartments in these buildings, the press has dubbed this section of 57th Street as "Billionaires' Row". These projects have generated controversy concerning the economic conditions and zoning policies that have encouraged these buildings, as well as
13716-406: Was "one of the most talented fellows I have ever come across; his drawings are like the old masters, and his color is equally fine". Sargent's excellent command of French and his superior talent made him both popular and admired. Through his friendship with Paul César Helleu , Sargent would meet giants of the art world, including Degas , Rodin , Monet , and Whistler . Sargent's early enthusiasm
13843-465: Was an eye surgeon at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia from 1844 to 1854. After John's older sister died at the age of two, his mother, Mary Newbold Sargent (née Singer, 1826–1906), suffered a breakdown, and the couple decided to go abroad to recover. They remained nomadic expatriates for the rest of their lives. Although based in Paris, Sargent's parents moved regularly, spending seasons at
13970-507: Was another early tenant. He lived in the building for at least 38 years, from some time before 1894 until 1932. A news report in 1941 said that another painter, Carle J. Blenner, had by then become a minor celebrity in the building, having lived there 50 years. He died in New Haven in 1952 and it is not known when he moved out. In March 1880, a shop owned by Acker, Merrall & Condit became the building's first commercial tenant. The company took
14097-517: Was considered to be a local landmark. Its local prominence gradually dwindled, however, and some two decades later the building had fallen into disrepair. In 1943, the Andros Realty Corporation bought up the property fronting Sixth Avenue to the south of the Sherwood and in 1944 filed a building plan for a large apartment house with a footprint covering almost the entire block from 56th to 57th Street. After years of persistent offers, Andros
14224-603: Was convinced that traveling around Europe, and visiting museums and churches, would give young Sargent a satisfactory education. Several attempts to have him formally schooled failed, owing mostly to their itinerant life. His mother was a capable amateur artist and his father was a skilled medical illustrator . Early on, she gave him sketchbooks and encouraged drawing excursions. Sargent worked on his drawings, and he enthusiastically copied images from The Illustrated London News of ships and made detailed sketches of landscapes. FitzWilliam had hoped that his son's interest in ships and
14351-654: Was developed as an artistic hub starting in the 1890s, with the development of Carnegie Hall . The section between Fifth and Eighth Avenues is two blocks south of Central Park . Since the early 21st century, the portion of the street south of Central Park has formed part of Billionaires' Row , which contains luxury residential skyscrapers such as 111 West 57th Street , One57 , and the Central Park Tower . Over its two-mile (3 km) length, 57th Street passes through several distinct neighborhoods with differing mixes of commercial, retail, and residential uses. 57th Street
14478-462: Was devoted to shops. Above that, each floor had floor-to-ceiling windows and the top floor had skylights as well. The apartments facing 57th Street were expected to be the most desirable having both northern exposure and extra light resulting from the avenue's extra width. The building's apartments had high ceilings and an extra-large elevator to accommodate large canvases or pieces of sculpture. They possessed conveniences that were not widely available at
14605-461: Was finally successful in buying the Sherwood in 1960 for $ 4,132,240. He promptly announced the construction of a 19-story building of close to 250 apartments and penthouse suites. The completed structure was opened in 1963 and quickly rented all its units. At the time it was demolished, the studio building was one of the last of its kind still standing, a circumstance that was deplored by the artists who were forced to move out. A long-time resident told
14732-418: Was for landscapes , not portraiture, as evidenced by his voluminous sketches full of mountains, seascapes, and buildings. Carolus-Duran's expertise in portraiture finally influenced Sargent in that direction. Commissions for history paintings were still considered more prestigious, but were much harder to get. Portrait painting, on the other hand, was the best way of promoting an art career, getting exhibited in
14859-570: Was further developed in 1879 with the construction of the Cornelius Vanderbilt II House at the northwest corner. The block of West 57th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues was described as being "the very best in the city" by 1885. One contemporary observer described the block's family homes as "first-class dwelling houses". Another called them "the brown-stone mansions of rich brewers, the François Premier chateaux of bankers,
14986-418: Was further developed in 1879 with the construction of the Cornelius Vanderbilt II House at the northwest corner. One contemporary observer described the block's family homes as "first-class dwelling houses". Another called them "the brown-stone mansions of rich brewers, the François Premier chateaux of bankers, the Gothic palaces of railroad kings". When the Sherwood Studio Building was developed, many lots in
15113-483: Was laid out and opened in 1857. In the early 19th century, there were industrial concerns clustered around either end of 57th Street, near the Hudson and East Rivers. At the time, the surrounding areas were largely undeveloped except for Central Park two blocks to the north. As late as the 1860s, the area east of Central Park was a shantytown with up to 5,000 squatters. The block of the street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues
15240-879: Was large enough to fit oversize works of art. There was an exhibition hall that could also be used for receptions and parties. An on-site café-restaurant helped to compensate for the building's lack of kitchenettes and became popular for the social interaction it enabled as well as the meals it provided. In its early years, the building adjoined the homes of prosperous art collectors and a later transformation brought luxury shops and tony cultural institutions as its neighbors. With all these advantages, "the Sherwood", as it came to be called, succeeded in attracting artists who were comfortably well off, whether because they had already established successful careers or because they benefited from inherited wealth. Moreover, its location and amenities made it particularly attractive to single women and small families. Such men as Coleman and Church, extracted
15367-506: Was launched. He immediately demonstrated the concentration and stamina that enabled him to paint with workman-like steadiness for the next twenty-five years. He filled in the gaps between commissions with many non-commissioned portraits of friends and colleagues. His fine manners, perfect French, and great skill made him a standout among the newer portraitists, and his fame quickly spread. He confidently set high prices and turned down unsatisfactory sitters. He mentored his friend Emil Fuchs , who
15494-491: Was learning to paint portraits in oils. In the early 1880s, Sargent regularly exhibited portraits at the Salon, and these were mostly full-length portrayals of women, such as Madame Edouard Pailleron (1880) (done en plein-air ) and Madame Ramón Subercaseaux (1881). He continued to receive positive critical notice. Sargent's best portraits reveal the individuality and personality of the sitters; his most ardent admirers think he
15621-443: Was particularly attractive to women artists and small families. By 1883, the building was fully tenanted and demand persisted sufficiently for rents to be regularly raised. By 1910, it had fulfilled Sherwood's purpose in designing and constructing it. As one man who knew the place well wrote, it had by then become a "hive of studios where much has been produced that has proved illustrious in American art for three decades past". In 1892,
15748-663: Was purchased in 1936 by the Currier Museum of Art , in Manchester, New Hampshire, where it has been on display since then. [REDACTED] Media related to Watercolor paintings by John Singer Sargent at Wikimedia Commons During Sargent's long career, he painted more than 2,000 watercolors, roving from the English countryside to Venice to the Tyrol, Corfu, the Middle East, Montana, Maine, and Florida. Each destination offered pictorial stimulation and treasure. Even at his leisure, in escaping
15875-421: Was still mostly undeveloped and noted for its boulders and deep ravines where squatters lived in shanties. The block between Fifth and Madison Avenues was the first part of 57th Street to see development, when Mary Mason Jones built the "Marble Row" on the eastern side of Fifth Avenue from 57th to 58th Streets between 1868 and 1870. In the mid-1870s, wealthy New Yorkers began to put up large family residences on
16002-554: Was the city's "most pressing want". During that year and the next, the Gilbert Elevated Railway Company constructed and opened the Sixth Avenue Line ; it proved to be a commercial success, drawing as many passengers as could fill its cars. Throughout most of the day, trains of four or five cars were drawn by light steam locomotives and tenders. However, the line also drew criticism from owners, tenants, and some of
16129-413: Was trained in Paris before moving to London, living most of his life in Europe. He enjoyed international acclaim as a portrait painter. An early submission to the Paris Salon in the 1880s, his Portrait of Madame X , was intended to consolidate his position as a society painter in Paris but instead resulted in scandal. During the year following the scandal, Sargent departed for England, where he continued
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