Description:
It began as a single-figure composition with Kate, the five-year-old daughter of Frank and Lily Millet, as the model. She was replaced by the children of the illustrator Frederick Barnard, Polley and Dolly, who were older (eleven and seven), picturesquely fair-haired and who posed in specially made white dresses. There was a considerable process of development and refinement: a sequence of pencil studies in a sketchbook records Sargent working through differences of viewpoint and variations in the disposition of the figures and includes a detailed sketch of lilies; these drawings also chart the way the composition moves from a single figure in a spacious setting to a tight, densely decorative two-figure work. Oil studies also indicate experimentation with the figures: one study shows the firls with their backs to each other (Private Collection) and an X-ray of a portrait of their mother, Mrs Frederick Barnard (Private Collection), painted around the same time, shows beneath the portrait a sketch of a single girl with lanterns, roses, and lilies. There are two further oil studies of Dolly and one of Polley (Private Collections), and beautifully rendered presentation sketches of their faces in pencil (Tate Gallery). Preparatory works also suggest that the composition was rectangular until a relatively advanced stage; Abbey described it as "seven feet by five" and, in an undated letter to his sister Emily, Sargent drew a rough pen-and-ink sketch with the figures in close relationship to those in the finished work, but still framed as a distinct rectangle. After he had worked out the position of the figures, Sargent extended the composition at the top and reduced it at the side so that the finished canvas is almost square. In this compressed pictorial space, the figures are clearly the focal point but Sargent lays out a flat and stylised arrangement of flower patterns around them creating an aesthetic, decorative design.
The project was beset by practical and technical difficulties. In the letter to Emily alrready quoted, Sargent wrote: "I am launched into my garden picture and have two good little models and a garden that answers the purpose although there are hardly any flowers and I have to scour the cottage gardens and transplant and make shift ... Fearful difficult subject. Impossible brilliant colours of flowers and lamps and brightest green lawn background. Paints are not bright enough, and then the effects only last ten minutes." He was aiming faithfully to transcribecomplex natural and artificial light effects, the cool waning light of early evening and warm candlelight illuminating the lanterns and reflected off the girls' faces, their white dresses and the lily petals. Working with a lyrical palette of white, grey, blue, mauveand pink, he used subtle tonal phrasing to create a poetic image: seen through a veil of blue-grey shadows, the tangled grasses take on a mysterious quality, and detail is elided, so that the lanterns and lilies, their means of support barely visible, seem to float in an ethereal dusk.
This is a Serigraph
You are viewing a Serigraph print. Fine artists create serigraphs in limited runs by applying layer upon layer of pigment to the print surface by pressing it through a mesh screen containing a stencil. The complex and lengthy process commonly uses inks for pigment and stencils made of a variety of materials. Because of the nature of the process each serigraph is unique.
This is a Giclee
You are viewing a giclee print. Each piece was created by a special process called "Giclee". Giclee is a computer generated print that is produced by the spraying of an image on to fine art paper. The inks used are specially formulated so that the fine print heads can spurt jets of ink in minute droplets. When prints are produced on fine art quality paper, the print should posses archival standards of permanence comparable or better than other collectible work.
This is a Hand Colored Print
You are viewing a hand colored print. The process begins with hand-pulled black & white decorative and antique reproduction prints. Each print is then individually designed and hand colored using the same methods of color application that were used throughout the 19th century, before modern color lithography. Individual artists meticulously paint each piece using the finest European watercolor paints on heavy mat, acid free, archival paper resistant to deterioration and discoloration. By combining old world craftsmanship with fresh design innovations, our artists create works of stunning depth and vibrancy that are absolutely beautiful and unique.
This is a Museum Quality Fine Art Print
You are viewing a museum quality fine-art print. The prints we carry are produced using either the lithographic or serigraphic printing process and are printed on high quality archival acid free paper. Most prints are on a thick (120 pound or higher) stock of paper. Each print is of the highest museum art print reproduction quality and are supplied by the world's leading art publishers. These prints rival any detailed reproduction from their originals and are geared towards the discerning eye of the particular art collector.
This is a Limited Edition
Limited editions are a series of identical prints, which are limited to a one-time printing of a certain number of pieces. The artist determines the size of the edition, and usually signs and numbers each individual piece. Limited edition prints framed by the Fulcrum Gallery are handled separately and given the utmost individual care and attention, using archival framing materials and practices. Because limited editions are in limited supply, and are of exceptionally high quality, the price is generally at a premium to regular open edition prints.
