In a photo of John Singer Sargent in his Paris studio from 1884, the 28-year-old painter presents himself as a sophisticated, stylish bohemian whose eclectic taste is reflected in his carefully chosen decor. Surrounded by objets d’art, paintings, and refined textiles, he displays his good taste and worldliness for potential portrait patrons, creating settings to suit his sitters.

Born in Italy to American expatriate parents, Sargent cultivated his powers of observation during a peripatetic childhood in Europe where he was constantly exposed to new people and the great art and culture of the continent. Fluent in a number of languages and cultures, he intuitively understood his patrons’ aspirations and ambitions, employing his dazzling, painterly technique to become one of the most sought-after portraitists of Gilded Age America and Victorian and Edwardian England.

During the 1890s, he achieved success as a portraitist in England by catering to a new upwardly mobile clientele. For Mrs. Hugh Hammersley, a fashionable society hostess and wife of a London banker, he fabricated an opulent setting in his studio that reflected his patron’s style and taste—using props from his own collection. The Louis XVI–style upholstered settee with gilt framework and the pale Aubusson carpet reflect the vogue for French 18th-century design in England at the time. Cascading swags of lush drapery in the background evoke paintings by old masters such as Van Dyke or Gainsborough. This stylish scene references Sargent’s artistic heritage and conveys status to the sitter, while the subdued tones serve as a foil for her daring vivid fuchsia velvet dress and vivacious pose.

“Art of the past is an open book from which to study and learn the lessons.” –Paul Manship

The celebrated American sculptor Paul Manship (1885–1966) drew inspiration from diverse sources, creating sophisticated works for a modern-day audience. He became particularly known for his reinterpretations of allegorical and mythological subjects in a streamlined, Art Deco style. From tabletop bronzes to garden statuary and architectural elements, Manship infused drama and energy into his art by emphasizing pattern and ornament and a sense of movement. At age twenty-three he became the youngest recipient of the Rome Prize, a prestigious award accompanied by a fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. Between 1909 and 1912, Manship immersed himself in the art of Italy, the Mediterranean, and Egypt, seeding his interest in freely blending stylistic elements from different cultural traditions. Returning to New York City, he became an immediate sensation as critics praised the young artist’s “mixed style” as a sign of originality.

In conjunction with the exhibition Paul Manship: Ancient Made Modern, this lecture explores Manship’s early mastery of bronze, a medium that would define his career, and continue to his mid-career, when his attention turned to major public commissions. Monroe will examine signature works such as the captivating Centaur and Dryad (1913), the elegant Flight of Night (1916), as well as large-scale gilded architectural reliefs for the AT&T Building (installed in 1921) in Lower Manhattan and the iconic Prometheus in Rockefeller Center (1934). Manship’s imagery will be seen in conversation with ancient artifacts he studied firsthand and further contextualized by rarely seen sketches and travel photographs drawn from the artist’s personal archive.