Lyman Allyn Art Museum acquires major works by John Singer Sargent and J. Alden Weir

J. Alden Weir (American, 1852–1919), Against the Window, 1884, oil on canvas, 41 5/8 x 34 5/8 inches. Gift of the Trust
of Lydia Ely Smith, a descendant of the artist. — J. Alden Weir (American, 1852–1919), Against the Window, 1884, oil on canvas, 41 5/8 x 34 5/8 inches. Gift of the Trust of Lydia Ely Smith, a descendant of the artist.

The Lyman Allyn Art Museum (625 Williams St, New London, CT 06320) is pleased to announce the acquisition of two significant American paintings—John Singer Sargent’s 1890 portrait of artist Julian Alden Weir (known as J. Alden Weir), and Julian Alden Weir’s 1884 portrait of his wife, Anna Dwight Baker Weir, entitled Against the Window. These two paintings, acquired from Weir descendants, strengthen the Lyman Allyn’s holdings in American art and add important portraits by two distinguished artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Sargent’s portrait of Weir—the first painting by John Singer Sargent to enter the Lyman Allyn’s collection—speaks to the deep friendship between the two artists. They first met in Paris in 1874 as young art students at the École des Beaux-Arts. At the time, Weir was dazzled by Sargent’s rapid progress and innate skill, writing that he was “one of the most talented fellows I have ever come across; his drawings are like the old masters, and his color is equally fine.”

John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925), Portrait of J. Alden Weir, 1890, oil on canvas, 25 ½ x 21 ½ inches. Museum
purchase with additional support from Anthony and Elizabeth Enders, John Oliva, and an anonymous donor. — John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925), Portrait of J. Alden Weir, 1890, oil on canvas, 25 ½ x 21 ½ inches. Museum purchase with additional support from Anthony and Elizabeth Enders, John Oliva, and an anonymous donor.

As Sargent’s talent for portraiture grew, it brought him widespread acclaim. His ability to capture a sitter’s vitality and spirit with loose, gestural brushstrokes can be seen in this portrait sketch of his friend Weir, painted in New York City on April 8, 1890, when Weir was 34.

Part of a family of talented artists, J. Alden Weir was a member of The Ten, a group of influential independent artists who first exhibited together in 1898. Weir is known for his Impressionist landscapes, as well as for portrait and genre paintings such as Against the Window, a tender portrait of his young wife Anna Dwight Baker, painted in Weir’s New York studio in the Benedick Building, overlooking Washington Square. A vase of flowers catches the light, revealing Weir’s talent for still life. The artist’s subject, palette, and style show the influence of French artist Edouard Manet, whose work Weir admired.

Weir left a strong legacy in Connecticut, dividing his time between New York, his farm at Branchville, Connecticut (now Weir Farm National Historical Park in Wilton/Ridgefield), and the Baker family home in Windham, Connecticut, where he depicted local landscapes. Numerous artist friends came to Connecticut to visit and paint with Weir, including John Singer Sargent, Childe Hassam, John Twachtman, and Albert Pinkham Ryder. A photograph documents John Singer Sargent’s last visit to Windham in November 1919, one month before Weir’s death.

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Lyman Allyn Art Museum acquires major works by John Singer Sargent and J. Alden Weir