John Singer Sargent. Vol. 8: Figures and Landscapes 1908–1913: The Complete Paintings

This eighth volume of a catalog raisonée of artist John Singer Sargent's (1856–1925) prolific output focuses on paintings, both in oil and watercolor, of figures and landscapes from 1908 to 1913. After a stint as a favored society portrait painter, the artist headed to Europe. This volume by Ormond, a Sargent scholar and independent art historian, and Kilmurray (research director, John Singer Sargent catalog raisonnée) is organized into seven chapters covering the locations Sargent visited, in chronological order beginning with Majorca in 1908 and concluding with "England and Elsewhere, 1908–1913," a miscellany. Each chapter highlights his experience in that place, including summaries of the technique, materials, scenery, figures, architectural renderings, etc. depicted in the full-color illustrations that follow. These examples show the fluidity and virtuosity of the brushstrokes that, although representational, have abstract and impressionist elements. As is standard in a catalog raisonée, each work includes the item's title, materials, dimensions, and provenance, in addition to a descriptive summary of the painting, one page for each work. A special touch is that the book includes some photographs of the subject matter painted by Sargent alongside the actual paintings.