The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), has announced the establishment of the John Singer Sargent Archive, formed with a recent gift of letters, photographs and sketches that document the artist’s life and world. The gift was given by Richard Ormond (Sargent’s grand-nephew) and his wife Leonée, and Warren Adelson together with his wife, MFA Overseer Jan Adelson.

The MFA is renowned for its collection of Sargent works, and the artist considered Boston to be his American home. With its holdings of paintings—including his masterpiece, The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit (1882)—in addition to sculpture, watercolors, drawings and murals by the artist, the MFA has the most comprehensive collection of Sargent’s art anywhere. The addition of the Sargent Archive makes the MFA the chief center for Sargent scholarship, bringing the artist’s era to life and enhancing understanding of the man and his work. 

In celebration of the gift, the exhibition Yours Sincerely, John S. Sargent  (July 25–November 15, 2015) will feature nearly 60 objects in the Edward and Nancy Roberts Family Gallery. Among the correspondence on view, 11 letters from Sargent to Claude Monet highlight his lifelong friendship and admiration for the French Impressionist master. Correspondence from Sargent's time in Boston can be found on Copley Plaza Hotel letterhead, where the artist frequently stayed. Another letter, carefully written in a neat round hand, describes a certain portrait as a “masterpiece”—it is signed Amélie Gautreau, best known today as Madame X. Caricatures of Sargent by friends and fellow artists Henry Tonks and Max Beerbohm add a dose of humor to the typical view of this hard-working artist, while sketches, props and photographs of his studios illuminate his craft. Exhibition sponsored by Northern Trust.

This summer, the MFA will encourage visitors to "Search for Sargent" throughout the galleries and around Boston, from his soaring murals in the Museum's Rotunda and Colonnade to his former haunt, the (Fairmont) Copley Plaza Hotel.