Eleanora O'Donnell Iselin (Mrs. Adrian Iselin) – (John Singer Sargent) ◄ Previous Next ►

Artist: John Singer Sargent

Date: 1888

Size: 182 x 123 cm

Technique: Oil On Canvas

Shown from the shins up, a woman with pale skin, iron-gray hair, and wearing a high-collared, long-sleeved black dress, stands next to a table against a caramel-brown wall in this vertical portrait painting. Her body is angled to our right and she looks out at us from the corners of her dark eyes under arched brows. She has a straight nose and slight jowls along her jaw line. Her thin, coral-red lips are set in a straight line. A round pearl hangs from the earlobe we can see. Her hair is parted down the middle and pulled back under a black cap or cloth. Glints on that hair covering suggest pearls or other ornaments. Three jewels, also perhaps pearls, glisten at her high collar and black beads catch the light at the shoulders and cuffs of the puffy, long sleeves. The bottom edge of the tight-fitting bodice also seems to be beaded, and the full skirt flares out at the hips. The sleeves end with white, ruffled cuffs. She holds a closed black fan with her left hand, on our right, and wears a gold ring on that pinky finger. She stands just behind the corner of a cherry-red table edged with gold, to our left, and grips the corner with the fingertips of her other hand. The portrait is painted with loose but blended brushstrokes, giving it a soft look. The artist signed the painting in the upper left corner, “John S. Sargent” with the date in the upper right, “1888.”