BOSTON, MASS.- Just after Isabella Stewart Gardner opened her Museum in 1903, she invited John Singer Sargent, a celebrated painter and close friend, to live and work in her Museum, making him the Museum’s first Artist-in-Residence. Sargent set up a studio in the Gothic Room, where he painted five portraits including one of Mrs. Gardner’s dear friend, Gretchen Osgood Warren and her daughter, Rachel. This September, that vivid and intimate portrait returned to the room where Sargent painted it and where surrounding objects provided inspiration for his composition. This special viewing, titled Sargent On Location: Gardner’s First Artist-in-Residence, is part of the ‘Close Up’ series, which showcases aspects of the Museum’s outstanding permanent collection.

With this loan from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Warren portrait has been reunited with Sargent’s famous portrait of Mrs. Gardner in the Gothic Room. At the same time, several works documenting Sargent’s use of the Gothic Room as a studio are on view in the Fenway Gallery, including photographs of Sargent painting Gretchen and her daughter. Other objects illustrate the friendship of these two, highly accomplished Gilded Age women – Isabella and Gretchen-- including a selection of their letters to each other, a book of Gretchen Warren’s poetry, and a lettercase made from a Chinese Qing dynasty dragon robe.

"Being able to show the exquisite portrait of Gretchen Osgood Warren in the room in which it was painted is very exciting for us and highlights Isabella’s role as a champion of the art of the past as well as of the art of her time,” says Christina Nielsen, William and Lia Poorvu Curator of the Collection and Exhibition Program. “As part of the ’Close Up‘ series, we also have the opportunity to showcase works of art, books, letters, and photographs in our collection that illuminate the creative connections among a range of Boston luminaries in the first decade of the 20th century.”

A richly illustrated publication edited by Nielsen with contributions from Casey Riley, Assistant Curator at the Boston Athenaeum, and Elizabeth Reluga, Head of Collection’s Access at the Gardner Museum and published by Paul Holberton Publishing accompanies the exhibition. The book will be available for purchase in the Museum’s gift shop.

"This exhibition and publication celebrates the public purpose of Isabella’s Museum and her support of the contemporary artists of her time—two themes that we continue to explore today through such programs as our artist residencies, which trace their roots to none other than John Singer Sargent himself. Just as in Sargent’s day, Isabella’s collection continues to inspire the artists of our own time,” says Peggy Fogelman, Norma Jean Calderwood Director.

The ‘Close Up’ series began in February 2017 with a special focus on Piermatteo d’Amelia’s Annunciation (c. 1487) in Hostetter Gallery. The series give visitors an inside look at Isabella, her legacy, and her collection, educating audiences about the relationship between the Museum’s history and its contemporary offerings.