Boston Athenæum

April 18, 2019 at the Boston Athenæum. This event was held in collaboration with the Somerset Club. John Singer Sargent, the most sought-after portraitist of his age, painted hundreds of women, the rich and famous, noble and artistic. Perhaps the most interesting woman he ever painted was the social reformer, women's-rights advocate, hostess, author and Athenæum member Annie Adams Fields. He painted her in 1890, his crucial American year. Both before and after that, during Sargent’s stays in Boston and Annie’s trips to London, the two fostered a mutual admiration within their overlapping circles of friends. Annie’s portrait has just come home from a big Sargent show in Stockholm. We want to welcome her back by exploring the backstory of this Athenæum treasure.