Study for North Wall, Special Collection Hall, Boston Public Library 1890 - 1895

Curator: Here we have John Singer Sargent's "Study for North Wall, Special Collection Hall, Boston Public Library," currently residing at the Harvard Art Museums. It's a sizable preparatory piece, roughly 129 by 99 centimeters. Editor: My first impression is that it's more dreamlike than definitive. Look at those figures; they're swimming in color, not standing on solid ground. Curator: Precisely. Sargent was exploring a theme of religious history for the Boston Public Library. These murals were intended to elevate the space, instilling a sense of civic and moral purpose through art. Editor: But there's something so raw and urgent about this study. It feels like a vision caught mid-flight, not a didactic pronouncement. Curator: It captures Sargent’s process, revealing how he synthesized historical narratives with his own artistic interpretation and public expectation. Editor: Well, I am certainly drawn to how the sketch feels more honest somehow. It's a window into an artistic struggle. Curator: Indeed, and perhaps a powerful reminder that art, in its public role, is never truly finished. Editor: I like that, the unfinished part. It leaves room for us to finish it in our own minds.