Sargent's Youthful Genius: Paintings from the Clark

A detail of an oil painting of a standing White woman wearing elaborate white clothing and holding the hood out over her head to catch the smoke from a lamp on the floor in front of her.
March 11–June 17, 2012
Second floor

Four spectacular paintings by John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) are part of the renowned collection of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Sterling Clark’s discerning eye led him to acquire several works by Sargent, including the monumental painting Fumée d’Ambre Gris, which Clark purchased in 1914. Though intimate in scale, Sargent’s Youthful Genius: Paintings from the Clark provides insight into a remarkably talented young artist, who achieved international acclaim by the time he turned 30.

John Singer Sargent

A Venetian Interior, 1880-82

Oil on canvas

An oil painting of a dimly-lit interior with several White women, some seated and some standing, stringing beads.

John Singer Sargent

Fumée d'Ambre Gris (Smoke of Ambergris), 1880

Oil on canvas

An oil painting of a standing White woman wearing elaborate white clothing and holding the hood out over her head to catch the smoke from a lamp on the floor in front of her.

John Singer Sargent

A Street in Venice, 1880-82

Oil on canvas

An oil painting of a White woman standing a doorway that opens onto a narrow alley, talking with a White man in a black overcoat.

John Singer Sargent

Portrait of Carolus-Duran, 1879

Oil on canvas

An oil painting of a seated White man with dark curly hair, mustache, and full beard, wearing a beige overcoat and leaning on one elbow which rests on his knee.

Installation Photos

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All Exhibitions

Sargent’s Youthful Genius: Paintings from the Clark is presented at the museum as part of a joint program with the Kimbell Art Museum, which will concurrently show the exhibition The Age of Impressionism: Great French Paintings from the Clark. Both exhibitions are organized by the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Mass. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities.

The Clark