Eleanora O'Donnell Iselin (Mrs. Adrian Iselin)
1888
Artist, American, 1856 - 1925
John Singer Sargent
Attributed to
Eleanora O'Donnell Iselin (1821–1897) was born into one of Baltimore, Maryland's most prominent and wealthy families. In 1845 she married Adrian Iselin, an affluent banker and dry goods merchant. The Iselins lived in New York City, where they were active members of high society and supporters of the city's cultural centers, including the Metropolitan Opera House, the American Museum of Natural History, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Eleanora's daughters Georgine and Emily commissioned the portrait from Sargent in the spring of 1888, as the artist's first professional visit to America was nearing its end.
The nearly full-length portrait shows Mrs. Iselin standing before an empty brown background. Staring sternly out at the viewer, she holds a closed fan in her left hand while her right hand reaches out to grasp the corner of an ornate Louis XVI-style table.
According to family tradition, when Sargent arrived at the Iselin home for the sitting, Mrs. Iselin entered the drawing room followed by a maid carrying an armful of ball gowns and asked him which one he wanted her to wear. To her dismay, Sargent insisted on painting her exactly as she stood without even removing her hand from the table. Some art historians have suggested that this interaction explains the sitter's somewhat severe expression. When late in life Sargent was asked if he remembered Mrs. Iselin, he diplomatically replied, "Of course! I cannot forget that dominating little finger."
More information on this painting can be found in the Gallery publication American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part II, pages 108-111, which is available as a free PDF (21MB).
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on canvas
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Credit Line
-
Dimensions
overall: 153.7 × 93 cm (60 1/2 × 36 5/8 in.)
framed: 181.93 × 122.87 × 12.38 cm (71 5/8 × 48 3/8 × 4 7/8 in.) -
Accession Number
1964.13.1
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
The sitter's husband, Adrian George Iselin [1818-1905], New York and New Rochelle; their daughter, Georgine Iselin [1857-1954], New York and New Rochelle; her grandnephew (the sitter's great-grandson), Ernest Iselin [d. 1968], New York; gift 1964 to NGA.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1894
Exhibition of Portraits of Women, National Academy of Design, New York, 1894, no. 259.
1924
Retrospective Exhibition of Important Works of John Singer Sargent, Grand Central Art Galleries, New York, 1924, no. 33, repro.
1925
Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the Late John Singer Sargent, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1925, no. 33.
1926
Memorial Exhibition of the Work of John Singer Sargent, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1926, no. 18, repro.
1945
Portraits of American Women: From Romanticism to Surrealism, Portraits, Inc., New York, 1945, no. 38.
1954
Sargent, Whistler and Mary Cassatt, Art Institute of Chicago; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1954, no. 55.
1976
Portraits USA, 1776-1976, Museum of Art, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 1976, pp. 28-29.
1980
La Pintura de Los Estados Unidos de Museos de la Ciudad de Washington, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, 1980-1981, no. 21, color repro.
Post-Impressionism: Cross-Currents in European and American Painting 1880-1906, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1980, no. 267, repro.
1983
The Quest for Unity: American Art Between World's Fairs 1876-1893, The Detroit Institute of Arts, 1983, no. 61, repro.
1986
John Singer Sargent, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; The Art Institute of Chicago, 1986-1987, unnumbered, repro.
2007
America! Storie di pittura dal Nuovo Mondo, Museo di Santa Giulia, Brescia, 2007-2008, no. 208, pl. 222.
Bibliography
1925
Downes, William Howe. John S. Sargent: His Life and Work. Boston, 1925: 131.
1927
Charteris, Evan. John Sargent. New York: Scribner's, 1927, p. 260.
1954
Sweet, Frederick A. Sargent, Whistler and Mary Cassatt. Exh. cat. Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago, 1954: 57.
1956
McKibbin, David. Sargent's Boston. Exh. cat. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1956: 103.
1969
Mount, Charles Merrill. John Singer Sargent: A Biography. Rev. ed. (originally published 1955). New York, 1969: 136, 442.
1970
American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 96, repro.
Ormond, Richard. John Singer Sargent: Paintings, Drawings, Watercolors. New York, 1970: 41, 244, pl. ix.
1976
Dickson, Harold E. Portraits USA: 1776-1976. Exh. cat. Museum of Art, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 1976: 70.
1980
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 218, repro.
Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1980: 10, 16, no. 40, color repro.
1981
Williams, William James. A Heritage of American Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1981: repro. 143, 144.
1982
Ratcliff, Carter. John Singer Sargent. New York: Abbeville Press, 1982, pp. 14, 116, pl. 8.
1983
Brown, Milton W. One Hundred Masterpieces of American Painting from Public Collections in Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., 1983: 84, pl. 85.
Pyne, Kathleen. In Huntington, David C. The Quest for Unity: American Art between the World's Fairs, 1876-1893. Exh. cat. Detroit Institute of Arts, 1983: 132-133, pl. 61.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 566, no. 863, color repro.
1986
Fairbrother, Trevor J. John Singer Sargent and America. New York, 1986: 117-119, 126, 188, 288, 289, fig. 30.
Hills, Patricia, et al. John Singer Sargent. Exh. cat. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1986: 154, pl. 104.
1988
Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. Rev. ed. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1988: 136, no. 45, color repro.
1992
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 331, repro.
1994
Fairbrother, Trevor J. John Singer Sargent. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1994, p. 70, pl. 71.
1998
Torchia, Robert Wilson, with Deborah Chotner and Ellen G. Miles. American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part II. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1998: 108-111, color repro.
Ormond, Richard, and Elaine Kilmurray. John Singer Sargent: The Early Portraits. The Complete Paintings, Volume I. New Haven and London, 1998: no. 214, repro.
2004
Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 338, no. 272, color repro.
Inscriptions
upper left: John S. Sargent; upper right: 1888
Wikidata ID
Q20189920