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At the height of his career, artist John Singer Sargent retired from portraiture. Instead, he made charcoal sketches, or “mugs”, which could be completed in one sitting instead of over the course of many. This charcoal sketch of William Bourn II was completed in 1915.Label
At the height of his career, artist John Singer Sargent retired from portraiture. Instead, he made charcoal sketches, or “mugs”, which could be completed in one sitting instead of over the course of many. The Bourn couple may have initially wanted to commission oil paintings, but due to his retirement, sketches were done instead. This sketch, completed in 1915, is a charcoal mug of William Bourn II.
“Ask me to paint your gates, your fences, your barns, which I should gladly do, but not the human face”
John Singer Sargent, 1907
