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Riley is posed in a contemplative manner holding a book to suggest his profession as a writer.

In 1898 Riley delivered a poetry reading to benefit the Art Association of Indianapolis, the forerunner of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

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John Singer Sargent

Portrait of James Whitcomb Riley, 1903

oil on canvas

36 x 30 in.

Painted on commission from the Art Association of Indianapolis

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Born in Florence, Italy, of American parents, Sargent passed his boyhood days there, first studying painting at the Academy of Fine Arts.  When he was eighteen, he went to Paris, where he studied under Carolus Duran and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in France, where he became a friend of Claude Monet whom he painted. In 1879 Sargent painted a portrait of Carolus Durand which made an impression on the public and decided the course of his career.  He regularly exhibited portraits at the Paris Salon, including Portrait of Madame X now considered one of his best works, though at the time it was thought to be a scandalous depiction.  The artist’s final years were spent in London, but he made periodic visits to America for the purpose of carrying out portrait commissions.  Sargent was the most fashionable portraitist in England and the United States because of his brilliant technique which flattered any sitter. 

Painted in Philadelphia in 1903, James Whitcomb Riley’s portrait was commissioned three years earlier by the Art Association of Indianapolis and paid for with funds raised at a benefit performance in 1898, with the poet reading his own works.  Sargent charged only one-third his normal fee, because he often agreed to paint famous men at minimal cost simply to have the opportunity of doing their portrait.  Sargent’s virtuosity, combined with a masterful portrayal of personality is demonstrated in this study of the Hoosier poet. While the likeness was received with mixed reviews by Riley’s friends, the portrait has an engaging directness befitting the poet’s no-nonsense nature.

Reference

Richard Ormond, Elaine Kilmurray.  John Singer Sargent: The Later Portraits, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2003. ISBN-13: 978-0300098068