At the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the exhibition Emily Sargent: Portrait of a Family unveils, for the very first time, the watercolors of Emily Sargent, the sister of John Singer Sargent, who has long remained in her brother’s shadow. The show, composed of works that had been hidden from public view for decades, will be on display until March.
There was another artist who traveled alongside John Singer Sargent, painting the same landscapes yet living entirely in his shadow: his sister, Emily Sargent. But her name was never mentioned in art history books, nor did her works grace gallery walls… until hundreds of her watercolors, long kept hidden, finally came to light.
Opening on July 1st, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition Emily Sargent: Portrait of a Family traces the life and art of this long-overlooked artist. For the first time, Emily Sargent’s watercolors have been brought together in a comprehensive display for art lovers to discover.
Running through March 9, the exhibition reveals Emily’s delicate brushwork, the nuanced layers of her emotional world, and her artistic vision that had long remained unseen.
Memory in a Trunk
In 2022, a significant detail emerged from a large bequest made by the heirs of John Singer Sargent to seven museums across the United States and the United Kingdom: the works in question were not by John, but by his sister Emily. These artworks, which had been forgotten for years inside a trunk, have now found a place in the Met’s collection for the first time.
As curator Stephanie L. Herdrich explains, “Seeing these works sparks a sense of discovery. We are only just beginning to understand how she worked.” The exhibition includes Emily’s architectural sketches, landscapes where light verges on abstraction, and collaborations she created alongside her brother. Of particular note is The Brook, Purtud, a watercolor that serves as rare documentation of John and Emily working side by side in the same place at the same time.
From Fragility to Strength
Due to a spinal condition in childhood, Emily grew up with physical limitations and did not seriously pursue painting until her thirties. Unlike her brother, she never received formal academic training; her art was born instead from observation, intuition, and an inner calling. One of Emily’s earliest influences was the artistic education provided by her mother, Mary Newbold Sargent, who nurtured her children’s creative development. Reflecting this legacy, the exhibition includes drawings not only by Emily and John but also by their mother Mary, underscoring a creative lineage spanning three generations.
Shining a Light on an Artist in the Shadows
Emily’s poetic relationship with watercolor results in a visual language markedly different from her brother’s bold portraits. Her works carry the sensitivity of someone who perceives the world with deep internal focus, rather than the public persona of a celebrated artist. Beneath the surface lies an expressive power that resonates strongly today, particularly in ongoing discussions about the visibility of women artists within art history. In this sense, the Met’s exhibition serves as both an apology and a tribute: making audible once more a voice history had forgotten.
Two Exhibitions, One Family
The Met has strategically opened this exhibition alongside its major retrospective Sargent and Paris, which focuses on John’s years of ascendance in Paris. Experiencing Emily’s introspective watercolors alongside this retrospective offers a rich context for understanding the creative dynamics within the Sargent family and the suppressed potential of women artists of the time.
This gift to the Met’s collection represents not merely the addition of new works but the rebirth of an artist’s legacy. The quiet sentences Emily Sargent painted in water are finally being shared with the world. This encounter extends not only to the past, but also issues a poignant invitation to the future.
