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Henry James 1843–1916
The American author Henry James is considered one of the greatest novelists in the English language. He spent most of his life abroad and frequently wrote about the culture clash between Americans and Europeans. After their first meeting in Paris in 1884, Sargent and James developed a close, lifelong friendship.
Another American expatriate, their mutual friend Edith Wharton, commissioned this drawing in 1911. James praised it as "a regular first class living, resembling, enduring thing." Yet Sargent was dissatisfied, telling Wharton: "It has neither his grim expression, nor his amused one -- and I shall not be surprised if you pronounce it a failure." Rather than give the drawing to James, Sargent presented it to King George V for his portrait collection of recipients of the Order of Merit. A year later, in 1913, Sargent painted a portrait of James in oil to commemorate the author's seventieth birthday.
Charcoal on paper, 1912
Lent by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
This is the National Portrait Gallery sign in the exhibit. |