When the poet William Butler Yeats [above, center] had his portrait done by John Singer Sargent in 1908, he said, “I wore a velvet jacket to remind myself how important he is.” Yeats, a lynchpin of the Irish literary scene, was one of many luminaries in the arts who was awed by Sargent’s gift for capturing the essence of those who withstood his compelling gaze. His portrait in charcoal is one of more than fifty currently on view at The Morgan Library & Museum.

Best known for his larger-than-life size oil paintings of the privileged, Sargent grew fatigued by the countless hours he had to spend with people who were, frankly, not up to his speed. Widely read, and an accomplished pianist, Sargent decided to shift gears. Around the age of fifty, he began taking portrait commissions only in the medium of charcoal on paper. These highly finished drawings that captured not only a likeness but also the essential spirit of his sitters, were generally done in just a few hours. They were offered for what, at the time, amounted to about $50; framing was extra. And the opportunity of having one done was limited to people with whom the artist wanted to spend time.

The exhibition includes depictions of luminaries in the arts, including author Henry James, the dancer Rudolf Nijinsky, the monologist Ruth Draper, along with Yeats and other notable public figures. Sargent would often entertain his sitters by playing the piano or having friends along to amuse them—and they clearly realized that they were not merely subjects, but performers showing off their best qualities to the artist. 

So skillful was Sargent that he was able to capture the uniqueness of each person in deft strokes that never sought to hide their imperfections. Yet these depictions were also flattering in the sense that the features of even the oldest seem to emanate an inner glow.

John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal continues through January 12^th at The Morgan Library & Museum. 225 Madison Avenue, NY, NY Info A series of discussions, gallery tours and workshops begins on Friday, October 18 with a Gallery Talk with Curatorial Fellow Laurel Peterson. Info Photos © Peggy Roalf

Lloyd Ziff, Brooklyn, 1968; this week at Throckmorton Fine Art

Talks / Book Events / Open Studios / Screenings / and Beyond

Tuesday, October 9

Galleries: How to Get One | LIC Arts Open Professional Development lecture, 6-8 pm. Plaxall Gallery, 5-25 46^th Avenue, Long Island City, NY Info

Thursday, October 10

Leonardo Drew in conversation with Brooke Kamin Rapaport, 6 pm. The Oval at Madison Square Park, Fifth Avenue at 26^th Street, NY, NY Info

Versailles ’73 | American Runway Revolution, screening, 6 pm. Katie Murphy Amphitheatre, Fashion Institute of Technology, 7^th Avenue at 27^th Street, NY, NY Info

Embellishments Overload Workshop, 6-8 pm. Museum of Arts and Design, 2 Columbus Circle, NY, NY Info

Thursday, October 10-Saturday, October 12

The Masters Series: Steve Brodner, 6 to 8 pm. SVA Chelsea Gallery, 601 West 26^th Street, 15^th Floor, NY, NY Info More

Symposium: Teaching Photographs. Pratt Institute, ARC Auditorium, ARC Lower Level, D-05, 200 Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn, NY Info Schedule

Thursday, October 10-Sunday, October 13

Clio Art Fair | The Anti-Fair for Independent Artists. 550 West 29^th Street between 10^th and 11^thAvenues, NY, NY Info

Saturday, October 12

Lloyd Ziff | Patti Smith Robert Mapplethorpe: Desire, Photographs 1968-1969, book signing and presentation, 3 pm. Throckmorton Fine Art, 145 East 57^th Street, NY, NY Info

Saturday, October 12-Sunday, October 13

The High Line Artists Open Studios, noon-6 pm. West Chelsea Arts Building, 526 West 26^th Street, NY, NY Info courtesy of Tom Cocotos

Saturday, October 12-December 21

Light Field Festival | Exhibitions, Workshops, Data Visualization and more, Hudson, NY Info

Tuesday, October 15

Ben Hassett | Color, book signing, 6-8 pm. Dashwood Books, 33 Bond Street, NY, NY Info

Elinor Carucci, Paul Graham, Gus Powell, Sasha Wolf | on PhotoWork, panel, 7 pm. Aperture Foundation, 547 West 27^th Street, NY, NY Info

Continuing

Penumbra Foundation Artist Series Lectures. 36 East 30^th Street, NY, NY Info

Looking Ahead

Wednesday, October 16

Patti Smith in conversation with Anthony Alofsin | The Crucible of Creativity, 6:30 pm. Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103^rd Street, NY, NY Info

Tuesday November 5

The Business of Art | 3-part Workshop, 5-6:30. Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, 1 East 53^rd Street, NY, NY Info

Daniela Edburg, Boundary, 2016; this week at Elizabeth Houston Gallery

In Galleries / Lens-based Art

Wednesday, October 9

SHE | works by Svetlana Bailey, Arielle Bobb-Willis, Daniela Edburg, Sally Gall, Weronika Gesicka, Cig Harvey, Sandra Kantanen, Kathrin Linkersdorff, Liz Nielsen, Laura Pannack, Chloe Rosser, Corine Vermeulen, 7-9 pm. Elizabeth Houston Gallery, 190 Orchard Street, NY, NY Info

Alice Miceli | Projeto Chernobyl. Americas Society, 680 Park Avenue, NY, NY Info

Thursday, October 10

Collin Leitch | Camera Rider, 6-8 pm. Team Gallery, 83 Grand Street, NY, NY Info

Sunday, October 13

Daniel Arnold | 1:2:1, 4-7 pm. Larrie, 27 Orchard Street, NY, NY Info

Robert Kushner, Betty's Blue Basket with Oranges, 2018; this week at DC Moore Gallery

In Galleries

Wednesday, October 9

Agnes Denes. The Shed, 545 West 30^th Street, NY, NY Info

Thursday, October 10

Sarah McEneaney | Trestletown Stomping Ground, 6-8 pm. Tibor De Nagy Gallery, 11 Rivington Street, NY, NY Info

What About the Human Figure? | MarthaEdelheit, Shirley Gorelick, Marcia Marcus, 6-8 pm. Eric Firestone Gallery, 4 Great Jones Street, NY, NY Info

Vik Muniz | Pictures of Paint and Museum of Ashes, 6-8 pm. Sikkema Jenkins & Co., 535 West 22^ndStreet, NY, NY Info

Robert Kushner | By My Window, 6-8 pm. DC Moore Gallery, 535 West 22^nd Street, NY, NY Info

Type A | Menace, 6-8 pm. Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art, 547 West 27^th Street, NY, NY Info

A Composite Leviathan | 12 emerging artists from China, 6-8 pm. Luhring Augustine Bushwick, 25 Knickerbocker Avenue, Brooklyn, NY Info

Friday, October 11

Pat Passlof | The Brush Is the Finger of the Brain, 6-8 pm. Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation, 87 Eldridge Street, NY, NY Info

Alex Bradley Cohen | Personal Space, 6-8 pm. Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, 327 Broome Street, NY, NY Info

Meredith James | Shadows on a Wall, 6-8 pm. Jack Hanley Gallery, 327 Broome Street, NY, NY Info

Arghavan Khosravi | Tightrope Walking the Red Lines, 6-8 pm. Lyles & King, 106 Forsyth Street, NY, NY Info

The Many Faces of Tamara de Lempicka. Kosciuszko Foundation, 15 East 65^th Street, NY, NY Info

Robert Morris | Pre-Architectural Projects, 6-8 pm. Leubsdorf Art Gallery, Hunter College, 132 East 68^thStreet, NY, NY Info

From the Bronx to Maine | Bronx Junior Photo League Maine workshop exhibition, 6-8 pm. Bronx Documentary Center, 614 Courtandt Avenue, Bronx, NY Info

Saturday, October 12

Petra Cortright | Domestic Landscapes. Danziger Gallery, 980 Madison Avenue, NY, NY Info

Picasso, The Studio, Paris, winter 1927-28, at MoMA

In Museums

Friday, October 11

The Pencil Is a Key | Drawings by Incarcerated Artists | including pages by Gustave Courbet, Ruth Asawa, Hans Bellmer and more. The Drawing Center, 35 Wooster Street, NY, NY Info

Made in Tokyo | Architecture and Living, 1964-2020; curated by Atelier Bow-Wow. Japan Society, 333 East 47^th Street, NY, NY Info

Tuesday, October 15

Narrative Art, Sculpture and Illustration, 6:30 pm. Society of Illustrators, 123 East 68^th Street, NY, NY Info

Friday, October 18

Edith Halpert and the Rise of American Art. The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92^nd Street, NY, NY Info

Monday, October 21

Museum of Modern Art opens to public, 10am-5:30 pm. 11 West 53^rd Street, NY, NY Info