John Singer Sargent : watercolors /

This beautifully illustrated catalogue of an exhibition on Sargent organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Brooklyn Museum, documents a lesser-known aspect of the career of this Gilded Age portraitist and American expatriate. In addition to introducing a new audience to Sargent's watercolors, an unfamiliar facet of his work for many, the catalogue details how and when the two museums acquired their holdings. Thus it gives readers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the early collecting practices of these beloved institutions. The reproduction values in the catalogue are excellent and enhanced by strong production values. Augmenting the images and layout are short essays by leading Sargent experts: Hirshler (MFA), Carbone (Brooklyn Museum), and Richard Ormond. The essays are particularly informative since they are organized by subject matter--Venetian scenes, landscape views, villa gardens, and the Alps, along with figure studies of Bedouin tribesmen, and of friends and family. Thus the essays expose the wide-ranging pictorial interests of this enterprising artist, captured in that most effervescent of media--watercolor. Summing Up: Highly recommended, Upper-level undergraduates through specialists, and the general, art-loving public. S. Webster emerita, Lehman College and the Graduate Center CUNY