John Singer Sargent, R.A.

Painted for Sir William Eden (1849–1915), the sitter's father;
By descent to the sitter who married Leopold Guy Greville, 6th Earl of Warwick (1882–1928);
Thence by descent.

Wellesley (Mass.), Davis Museum, on long term loan.

D. Mc Kibbin, 'Check List of Sargent's Portraits' in the catalogue for Sargent's Boston, the centennial exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1956;
John Singer Sargent, catalogue for the exhibition at the Tate Gallery, London, edited by E. Kimurray and R. Ormond, 1998, p. 210;
To be included in the forthcoming catalogue of Sargent's Charcoal Portraits by Richard Ormond.

The medium in this work has remained very well preserved. As a result the image is easily readable and clear. The tone of the paper has mellowed with time and there is some minor surface dirt and only a few very small foxmarks. None of these minor deflects disturb the balance of the composition. The sheet has been laid down.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Sargent's elegant drawing of the beautiful Marjorie Eden probably dates from 1909, the year of her marriage to Guy, Lord Brooke. A few years earlier in 1905 the artist had done a watercolour of her (Private Collection), probably when she was a debutante, depicting her in a white evening dress, and in 1906 he painted her mother, Sybil (Private Collection) also considered a great beauty. 

Marjorie was the only daughter of Sir William Eden and his wife Sybil Grey. According to her brother Anthony who later became Foreigh Secretary and Prime Minister, she was her father's favourite and it is fitting that he should choose his friend Sargent to depict her. Sir William was a talented but quixotic character. He was a fine horseman, a famous shot and a keen amateur boxer, but he was also a talented artist, an enthusiastic collector of pictures and an expert on gardening. His wish to acquire a good portrait of his wife from Whistler led to a famous court case, described by the artist in his book The Baronet and the Butterfly. Eden was a friend of Sargent's - they socialized both in London and Venice (where Eden owed the Giardini Eden) and Eden bought Sargent's Olive Trees at Corfu in 1910, only to sell it soon afterwards to Knoedler (Collection Marshall Field, Chicago). The artist inscribed the drawing 'to my friend Sir William Eden' and on Eden's death it was not sold but passed to his daughter. 

Majorie Eden was brought up in her father's imposing Durham mansion Windlestone Hall which Anthony Eden recalls being full of fine paintings. Her marriage to Guy Brooke took place on 29th April 1909, a big society occasion at St. Margaret's, Westminster. She acquired as mother-in-law the beautiful and notorious Daisy Countess of Warwick, Edward VII's mistress, who was also drawn by Sargent. Her husband succeeded his father as Earl of Warwick in 1924, and they had three sons, one who was killed in 1942. Throughout her life she possessed great energy and devotion to duty. During the First World War she worked on a hospital train for the Royal Army Medical Corps. Following her husband's death in 1928 she entered local government, serving as Mayor of Warwick in 1929, 1930 and 1931, and took great interest in Warwick Castle, writing a book on the Earls and their Castle. In later life she moved to Cap Ferrat and on the outbreak of the Second World War worked in support of the French, starting canteens just behind the French lines and later back in England. The Times of 17th February 1943 carried a moving anonymous eulogy:

"Some will remember her as a girl on her 'Pagan' pony, and later on one of her father's hunters, following him - a hard man to follow - across the South Durham country. Others will think of her as a debutante in the days when the London Season was most brillaint, or hold the picture, not easily forgotten, of one of the loveliest brides. Then came the nurse in the last war, working on her hospital train, backwards and forwards, sometimes under shell-fire, between the casualty clearing stations and the base hospitals... But France was the love of her heart - the sun of France, the light of France, the gardens of France, and the speech and the thought and the soul of France. It was for France she was working when she was summoned to cease from all work..."

We are grateful to Richard Ormond for his assistance in cataloguing this lot and for pointing out that the drawing was photographed by Paul Lait, Sargent's photographer and that the negatives are in the Witt Library (nos. 2877 and 2721).