Paul Helleu
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Sargent formed a lifelong friendship with French painter Paul Helleu (1859–1927), whom he met while studying in Paris. Sargent commemorated their friendship in multiple images. This portrait is a very rare example of Sargent’s work in pastel, a medium that Helleu favored and may have encouraged Sargent to try. Sargent was devoted to his friend and often tried to advance his career. Helleu later told his daughter that Sargent "has been like a father to me throughout my life."
Artwork Details
- Title: Paul Helleu
- Artist: John Singer Sargent (American, Florence 1856–1925 London)
- Date: ca. 1880
- Culture: American
- Medium: Pastel on brown wove paper
- Dimensions: 19 5/16 × 17 15/16 in. (49.1 × 45.6 cm)
Mount: 19 7/8 × 17 15/16 in. (50.5 × 45.6 cm)
Framed: 24 7/8 in. × 22 3/4 in. × 2 1/4 in. (63.2 × 57.8 × 5.7 cm) - Credit Line: Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of Mrs. Annie Swan Coburn
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing