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Tissot, James Jacques Joseph
France (1836 - 1902)
Mon jardin à S.-John's Wood (My Garden in St. John's Wood)
1878
Etching and drypoint on laid paper
9 3/8 x 7 7/16 in. (23.8 x 18.9 cm) sheet size; 7 7/16 x 4 1/2 in. (18.9 x 11.4 cm) plate mark size
Stimson Collection, gift of Dorothy Stimson Bullitt
FA 77.160

James Jacques Joseph Tissot, a French painter and printmaker, moved to England in 1871 where he met Kathleen Newton, an Irish divorcee. The two lived together in the London district of St. John’s Wood for several years until Newton’s death in 1882. Mon Jardin à S. –John’s Wood was created during their stay in the suburb, where Newton served as his mistress, model, and muse, dominating the subject matter of his works.

A contemporary of Edgar Degas and friend of James McNeill Whistler, Tissot created a significant body of work in the second half of the 19th century. His most notable paintings depict fashionable scenes of high society, elegant young people, and social events, many of which include Kathleen Newton and her children. At her death, the loss of his companion and model deeply affected Tissot and eventually changed the course of his work. He became increasingly interested in Spiritualism, a practice in vogue at the time that was particularly concerned with communicating with the deceased, and in 1885 he claimed to have seen Newton materialize in a séance. This experience greatly moved Tissot, who then became progressively more devoted to Catholicism. He made several trips to the Middle East to observe and paint backgrounds for Bible illustrations, as religious painting became the focus of the rest of his career. -- Label copy for 150 Works of Art, October 1, 2005 to February 26, 2006.

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