Press release: January 2005

John Singer Sargent Portait on Loan to National Gallery

Mrs Carl Meyer and her Children

The National Gallery is delighted to announce that 'Mrs Carl Meyer and her Children', one of the American artist John Singer Sargent's most famous portraits, will be on special loan to the Gallery from Saturday 22 January 2005. The painting comes from the collection of the sitter's grandson, Sir Anthony Meyer, Bart. Sir Anthony died on Christmas Eve and the painting is to be temporarily displayed at the National Gallery now in celebration of his life.

This exquisite work is recognised as one of Sargent's most innovative, energetic and audacious society portraits. It was painted in 1896 at the Meyers' country house in Sussex. It shows Adèle Meyer, who was a well-known hostess and society figure, with her two children Elsie Charlotte and Frank Cecil, the father of Sir Anthony. The children lean against the back of the divan, shyly engaging the artist's eye, while Adèle confronts him with an amused and animated gaze. The swathes of silk in her extravagant dress and the strand of pearls that cascade down to tiny feet depict her as a 'grande dame'. There was much more to her, however, and her extensive and pioneering charitable works have earned Lady Meyer (as she became) an entry in the new Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

The large-scale portrait, 209 x 135 cm, will be displayed in Room 41. It takes its place at the National Gallery among an incomparable group of monumental portraits painted across Europe from the Renaissance onwards, including works by Titian, Holbein, Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Delacroix and Ingres.

For further information please contact Cathy Hinde at the National Gallery Press Office:
Tel: 0207 747 2512
email: catherine.hinde@ng-london.org.uk

Back to 2005 Press Releases