Excerpt from Catalogue, Paintings by Great Masters: Water Colors by Homer and Sargent, Oil Paintings by Elizabeth W. Roberts, January, 1918; Sculpture by Mrs. Gertrude V. Whitney, Water Colors by Mrs. C. W. Hawthorne, Pictorial Photography, February, 1918 When the history of American painting has been written for all time, two names will stand out prominently among the most important artists that this country has ever produced. They are Winslow Homer and John Sargent. The first of these men was born in Boston and was almost entirely self taught. He became a lithographer and then Harpers' corre spondent at the front during the early years of the Civil War. From this he developed into the foremost American marine painter. Later he took up the more summary medium of water color, working broadly for effects of light and color. John Sargent was born of American parents in Florence, received his first training in the Academy there, and later was a student under Carolus Duran. From this training he emerged a most facile portrait painter, being considered by eminent authorities the first portraitist since-reyno'ds and Gainsb.orough After he had acquired fame and fortune in this branch of oil painting, he gave it up for water color, with the interesting results here shown. This exhibition is especially remarkable because it brings to us unfamiliar work by familiar masters. All lovers of art are well acquainted with oil paintings by both artists but many of them have never had such an excellent opportunity to view and study their work in another medium. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

John Singer Sargents approach to watercolour was unconventional. Disregarding late-nineteenth-century aesthetic standards that called for carefully delineated and composed landscapes filled with transparent washes, his confidently bold, dense strokes and loosely defined forms startled critics and fellow practitioners alike. One reviewer in England, where Sargent spent much of his adult life, called his work swagger watercolours. For Sargent, however, the watercolours were not so much about swagger as about a new way of thinking. In watercolour as opposed to oils his vision became more personal and his works more interconnected. Presenting nearly 100 works of art, this book is the first major publication of Sargents watercolours in twenty years. Each chapter highlights a different subject or theme that attracted the artists attention during his travels through Europe and the Middle East: sunlight on stone, figures reclining on grass, patterns of light and shadow. Insightful essays by the worlds leading experts enhance this book and introduce readers to the full sweep of Sargents accomplishments in the medium, in works that delight the eye as well as challenge our understanding of this prodigiously gifted artist.