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Portrait of Lisa Colt Curtis
The Cleveland Museum of Art

Portrait of Lisa Colt Curtis

oil on canvasJohn Singer Sargent (American, born Italy, 1856–1925)/1898

Description

One of the most sought-after painters of his era, Sargent achieved considerable critical and financial success portraying cosmopolitan members of high society on both sides of the Atlantic. Here, the artist depicts an acquaintance—a relative of the Colt firearms family—who had recently married his distant cousin Ralph. In her portrait, Curtis wears an elegant satin dress and poses as if she were welcoming guests into her palatial Venetian home. The painting apparently was a wedding gift to the couple by the artist; its inscription at the top right reads, "To Ralph and Mrs. Ralph, John S. Sargent 1898."

Provenance

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio; (Christie’s, New York, Dec. 29, 1998, private treaty sale to the Cleveland Museum of Art); Patricia Curtis Viganò, Venice, Italy; Lisa Marjorie Curtis de Beaumont, France; and Ralph D. Curtis, Venice, Italy; Ralph Wormeley Curtis, Jr. [1909-1973] Venice, Italy, and Paris, France, by descent to his children Patricia Curtis Viganò, Lisa Marjorie Curtis de Beaumont, and Ralph D. Curtis; Sylvia Curtis Steinert [1899-1981], Paris and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France, to her brother, Ralph Wormeley Curtis, Jr.; Ralph Wormeley Curtis [1854-1922] and Lisette De Wolf Colt Curtis [1867-1933], Paris and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France, probably by descent to their daughter Sylvia Curtis Steinert

Dimensions

219.3 × 104.8 cm

Accession No

1998.168

Official Citations

[The Cleveland Museum of Art Official Record][Full Resolution Image]
Curatorial Affinity Stream

Continuing the Universe of John Singer Sargent (American, born Italy, 1856–1925)

American Painting and Sculpture • America • Harmonious Works & Contemporaries