Whistler, Sargent, and Steer was an exceptional exhibition of the works of James McNeill Whistler, John Singer Sargent and British Impressionist Philip Wilson Steer, organized exclusively for the Frist Art Museum.
Organized by Tate Curator David Fraser Jenkins, the exhibition contained 38 works that rank among the best each artist painted.
Highlights included Whistler’s Harmony in Grey and Green: Miss Cicely Alexander (1872-74), a work that reflects the artist’s Japanese and pre-Raphaelite influences; a grouping of Sargent’s most delightful watercolors, as well as major salon portraits such as Almina, Daughter of Asher Wertheimer (1908), a pre-eminent example of Sargent’s virtuosic brushwork.
The British Impressionist Steer is represented by such lively scenes as Girls Running, Walberswick Pier (1888-1894). American-born painters Whistler and Sargent, along with the British Impressionist Steer, are credited with bringing modern art to London toward the end of the 19th century. Combining rich, subtle color combinations with a remarkable ability to capture the effects of light, the three painters shared an admiration for the loosely described forms and glowing atmosphere of French Impressionism.
