A Road in the South

c. 1878–84

Sargent may have painted this study during one of his frequent visits to the Mediterranean. Stucco walls line the street, enclosing houses with terracotta roofs and gardens dense with trees. When working outside, Sargent often chose to paint contained views like this rather than panoramic vistas, focusing on subtle differences of light and texture.

Medium	oil on canvas
Dimensions	12 13/16 x 18 1/8 in. (32.5 x 46 cm)
Object Number	1955.577
Acquisition	Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955
Status	Off View

Image Caption

John Singer Sargent, A Road in the South, c. 1878–84, oil on canvas. Clark Art Institute, 1955.577

Select Bibliography

Ormond, Richard and Elaine Kilmurray. Figures and Landscapes, 1874-1882. Vol. IV of John Singer Sargent: Complete Paintings. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. 2006. Downes, William Howe. John S. Sargent: His Life and Work. London: Thornton & Butterworth, 1926. Charteris, Evan. John Sargent. London: William Heineman, Ltd., 1927. Mount, Charles Merrill. John Singer Sargent: A Biography. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1955. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1970. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1972. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1984. Conrads, Margaret C. American Paintings and Sculpture at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1990. Kern, Steven, ed. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1992. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Exhibit Seven: The Regency and Louis XVI Rooms. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1957. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Exhibit Four & Exhibit Seven. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1958. Ormond, Richard. John Singer Sargent: Paintings, Drawings, and Watercolors. London: Phaidon Press, 1970. Coe Kerr Gallery. John Singer Sargent: His Own Work. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Coe Kerr Gallery, 1980.

Provenance

To Auguste Hirsch, Paris; to Mme Auguste Hirsch (his widow), Paris; to (M. Knoedler & Co., Paris, 1914); to Sir Joseph F. Laycock, London, 1919; to (M. Knoedler & Co., New York, February 2, 1927); to Robert Sterling Clark, April 13, 1927.