Thistles

1883–89

John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925)

Thistles captures the tangled movement of the windblown plants in light and shadow. Executing this work in rural England (or possibly in Nice, France), John Singer Sargent experimented with broken brushwork and a vibrant palette. The landscape composition is remarkably abstract, with the dynamic patterning of the thistles asserting the flatness of the picture plane more than any sense of depth.

Beginning in 1885, the artist spent more time painting out of doors, exploring the techniques and subjects of Impressionism, inspired by a growing friendship with Claude Monet. Sargent continued painting en plein air throughout his life, a practice that provided needed respite from his busy schedule as an acclaimed portraitist.

Status: On View, Gallery 176
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: John Singer Sargent
Title: Thistles
Place: England (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: c. 1883–1889
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 55.9 × 71.8 cm (22 × 28 1/4 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Brooks McCormick
Reference Number: 1996.446
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/145807/manifest.json

James N. Wood, Impressionism and Post–Impressionism in the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2000), 84.
Judith A. Barter, et al., American Arts at The Art Institute of Chicago: From Colonial Times to World War I (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1998), 322–325, cat. 170.
Judith A. Barter, et al., The Age of American Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2011), cat. 35.
Annelise K. Madsen, et al., John Singer Sargent and Chicago’s Gilded Age, exh. cat. (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2018), 10, 102, 155, 179, 203, cat. 14, fig. 133 (ill.).

Art Institute of Chicago, John Singer Sargent and Chicago’s Gilded Age, July 1–Sept. 30, 2018, cat. 14.

Artist’s sale, Christie’s, London, 24 and 27 July 1925, lot 198, sold to David Croal Thomson of Barbizon House, London; Charles Deering, Chicago; by descent to his daughter, Marion Deering (Mrs. Chauncey McCormick), 1927; by descent to her son Brooks McCormick, 1965; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1996.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.