Sargent at the DeYoung in San Francisco

I recently learned there are three John Singer Sargent paintings in my own backyard (almost) -- at the DeYoung Museum! Two of them were already familiar to me, and I love them.

The first is titled "The Dinner Table", with Mrs. Albert Vickers in the center and her husband not too visible on the right. Sargent painted the whole Vickers family in 1884 during the summer after the scandal and debacle of "Madame X" sent him running from Paris to England.

The second painting is a later watercolor of a man fishing in a mountain stream. After about 1906, Sargent took no more orders for portraits, though he painted or did charcoal sketches of friends; he concentrated on watercolors which he excelled in.

The third painting, below, is of Caroline de Bassano, Marquise d'Espeuiles; the portrait was painted in 1884. As usual, Sargent painted the clothing with a fine eye for lacy detail and satiny folds. From the expression on the Marquise's face, however, I'd say he kept her standing there a little too long for her liking!