In 1912, Sargent made several watercolors in the gardens of the Generalife, the former summer palace of the Moorish sultans at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. Surrounded by the lush foliage and tiled paths is Sargent's sister Emily, an amateur artist, sketching at her easel. The young woman looking on at the left is Jane de Glehn, an artist and frequent traveling companion; at right is Dolores Carmona, a Spanish friend. Sargent's images of his friends and relatives working out-of-doors are among his most compelling works, conjoining his dual skills as portraitist and plein-air painter.

Open full-size image