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Edwin Booth
John Singer Sargent American
Not on view
Renowned Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth (1833–1893) founded the Players Club in New York as a meeting place for actors and other professions. He also carried the burden of being the brother of John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated President Lincoln in 1865. In 1889, the members commissioned Sargent to paint this portrait of their founder for the club.
Booth stands before the marble fireplace in the club’s great hall. The unusually wide format creates a stagelike space even though the actor is not shown in character. After the second sitting, Booth was disappointed with the likeness. When Sargent heard this, he painted out the head "and a new picture was begun." Sargent’s portrayal reveals Booth’s complexity: his expression seems tragic and haunted, while his pose conveys a masterful self-confidence.
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