Scylla, 1904 (from Sketchbook)
Medium
Graphite and watercolor on paper
Dimensions
5 7/8 x 8 5/8 in. (14.9 x 21.9 cm)
Classification
Watercolor
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Francis Ormond, 1950
Accession Number
50.130.151y recto
Tags
Art Historical Context
Mary Newbold Sargent’s *Scylla* (1904) offers a delicate glimpse into an American artist’s travels and observations at the turn of the twentieth century. Created in graphite and watercolor on paper, this small sketchbook page—measuring just under six by nine inches—captures a rugged mountainous landscape. The title evokes the rocky cliffs associated with the mythological figure Scylla, suggesting Sargent may have been recording a scene that blended natural observation with classical allusion. The combination of graphite for precise outlines and translucent watercolor washes was a favored tech...
About the Artist
Mary Newbold Sargent · 1826–1906
Mary Newbold Sargent (née Singer, 1826–1906) was born on April 24, 1826, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to John Singer, a tanner and merchant, and Mary Smith Newbold. She married Dr. FitzWilliam Sargent, an eye surgeon, on June 27, 1850, in Philadelphia. The death of their first daughter, Mary Newbold Sargent (1851–1853), triggered a profound emotional crisis for Mary, prompting the family to aban...