Island of Temdos(?) (from Sketchbook) 1904

Mary Newbold Sargent made this watercolor sketch titled 'Island of Temdos' as part of a sketchbook, sometime in the 19th century. The image is quite simple, depicting a seascape with a distant island. Sargent, born into a prominent Philadelphia family, would have been part of a social elite that valued artistic accomplishment alongside more conventional markers of status. Watercolors like these were considered proper hobbies for women of her class. Yet, the starkness of the image suggests more than mere dilettantism. What are we to make of this study of sea, sky, and land? Sargent seems to ask. Her choice of monochrome gives the image a timeless quality, perhaps commenting on the scale and nature of the ocean or even questioning art's institutions. To get a clearer picture, one could look to family papers and travel diaries to shed light on Sargent's intentions and the social context in which she created this work.