Sarah Choate Sears
Encyclopedia
Sarah Choate Sears was an American
art collector, art patron
, cultural entrepreneur, artist
and photographer.
, Massachusetts
on 5 May 1858, the daughter of Charles Francis and Elizabeth Carlisle Choate. Her family was one of the Boston Brahmin
s, a very prominent class of cultural society in New England
.
In 1876 she studied painting at the Cowles Art School in Boston
and later attended courses at the Museum of Fine Arts
a few blocks away.
In 1877 she married real estate magnate Joshua Montgomery Sears (1854–1905), one of the wealthiest men in Boston. The combination of her own family’s wealth and that of her new husband meant that she would live a life of leisure, free to pursue whatever interested her.
She continued her art studies and won prizes for her watercolors at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago (1893), the Universal Exposition in Paris (1900), the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo (1901) and the Louisiana Purchase Exposition
in Saint Louis (1904).
About 1890 she began exploring photography, and soon she was participating in local salons. She joined the Boston Camera Club
in 1892, and her beautiful portraits and still lifes attracted the attention of fellow Boston photographer F. Holland Day
. Soon her work was gaining international attention.
At the same time she was pursuing her photography interest, she and her husband were hosting some of the most elegant cultural and artistic parties in Boston. They often featured private symphonic performances and included many international composers and performers, including Ignacy Paderewski, Serge Koussevitsky and Dame Nellie Melba
.
In 1899 she was given a one-woman show at the Boston Camera Club, and in 1900 she had several prints in Frances Benjamin Johnson’s famous exhibition in Paris.
In early 1900 she met American Impressionist Mary Cassatt
, and the two continued to be friends for the remainder of their lives. During this same period she was elected as a member of the prestigious photographic associations the Link Ring in London and Alfred Stieglitz’s Photo-Secession
in New York.
In 1904 she stopped working to care for her ailing husband, and after his death a year later she devoted herself to managing the family’s finances for a brief period. She then traveled throughout Europe with Cassatt and Gertrude Stein
, collecting more art and living a highly glamorous lifestyle among artists, musicians and writers. Added by the advice of Cassatt, she began to collect early Impressionist paintings by Edgar Degas
, Edward Manet and others.
Her collection included Manet’s well-known ‘’Street Singer’’, later donated by her to the Museum of Fine Arts.
Under the guidance of Stieglitz, she also collected modernist paintings by Maurice Prendergast
, Arthur B. Davies
, Paul Cézanne
, Georges Braque
and Henri Matisse
. She took a particular interest in Prendergast, arranging for his first Boston exhibition and later paying for him to study in Europe.
In 1907, two of her photographs were published in Camera Work
, but by that time she had lost much of her interest in photography. She continued to paint watercolors for the rest of her life but rarely photographed again.
She died in West Gouldsboro, Maine, on 25 September 1935.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
art collector, art patron
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
, cultural entrepreneur, artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and photographer.
Early life
Sears, née Sarah Carlisle Choate, was born in CambridgeCambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
on 5 May 1858, the daughter of Charles Francis and Elizabeth Carlisle Choate. Her family was one of the Boston Brahmin
Boston Brahmin
Boston Brahmins are wealthy Yankee families characterized by a highly discreet and inconspicuous life style. Based in and around Boston, they form an integral part of the historic core of the East Coast establishment...
s, a very prominent class of cultural society in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
.
In 1876 she studied painting at the Cowles Art School in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and later attended courses at the Museum of Fine Arts
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
a few blocks away.
In 1877 she married real estate magnate Joshua Montgomery Sears (1854–1905), one of the wealthiest men in Boston. The combination of her own family’s wealth and that of her new husband meant that she would live a life of leisure, free to pursue whatever interested her.
She continued her art studies and won prizes for her watercolors at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago (1893), the Universal Exposition in Paris (1900), the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo (1901) and the Louisiana Purchase Exposition
Louisiana Purchase Exposition
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the Saint Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States in 1904.- Background :...
in Saint Louis (1904).
Photography and later life
Boston Camera Club
The Boston Camera Club is the primary amateur photographic organization in the immediate vicinity of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1881, it offers activities of interest to amateur photographers. It meets six times monthly and is open to the public....
in 1892, and her beautiful portraits and still lifes attracted the attention of fellow Boston photographer F. Holland Day
F. Holland Day
Fred Holland Day was an American photographer and publisher. He was the first in the U.S.A. to advocate that photography should be considered a fine art.-Life:...
. Soon her work was gaining international attention.
At the same time she was pursuing her photography interest, she and her husband were hosting some of the most elegant cultural and artistic parties in Boston. They often featured private symphonic performances and included many international composers and performers, including Ignacy Paderewski, Serge Koussevitsky and Dame Nellie Melba
Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...
.
In 1899 she was given a one-woman show at the Boston Camera Club, and in 1900 she had several prints in Frances Benjamin Johnson’s famous exhibition in Paris.
In early 1900 she met American Impressionist Mary Cassatt
Mary Cassatt
Mary Stevenson Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker. She lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists...
, and the two continued to be friends for the remainder of their lives. During this same period she was elected as a member of the prestigious photographic associations the Link Ring in London and Alfred Stieglitz’s Photo-Secession
Photo-Secession
The Photo-Secession was an early 20th century movement that promoted photography as a fine art in general and photographic pictorialism in particular. A group of photographers, led by Alfred Stieglitz and F...
in New York.
In 1904 she stopped working to care for her ailing husband, and after his death a year later she devoted herself to managing the family’s finances for a brief period. She then traveled throughout Europe with Cassatt and Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein was an American writer, poet and art collector who spent most of her life in France.-Early life:...
, collecting more art and living a highly glamorous lifestyle among artists, musicians and writers. Added by the advice of Cassatt, she began to collect early Impressionist paintings by Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas[p] , born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist...
, Edward Manet and others.
Her collection included Manet’s well-known ‘’Street Singer’’, later donated by her to the Museum of Fine Arts.
Under the guidance of Stieglitz, she also collected modernist paintings by Maurice Prendergast
Maurice Prendergast
Maurice Brazil Prendergast was an American Post-Impressionist artist who worked in oil, watercolor, and monotype...
, Arthur B. Davies
Arthur B. Davies
Arthur Bowen Davies was an avant-garde American artist and patron.-Biography:He was born in Utica, New York and studied at the Chicago Academy of Design from 1879 to 1882...
, Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
, Georges Braque
Georges Braque
Georges Braque[p] was a major 20th century French painter and sculptor who, along with Pablo Picasso, developed the art style known as Cubism.-Early Life:...
and Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
. She took a particular interest in Prendergast, arranging for his first Boston exhibition and later paying for him to study in Europe.
In 1907, two of her photographs were published in Camera Work
Camera Work
Camera Work was a quarterly photographic journal published by Alfred Stieglitz from 1903 to 1917. It is known for its many high-quality photogravures by some of the most important photographers in the world and its editorial purpose to establish photography as a fine art...
, but by that time she had lost much of her interest in photography. She continued to paint watercolors for the rest of her life but rarely photographed again.
She died in West Gouldsboro, Maine, on 25 September 1935.
Further reading
- Stephanie M. Buck, Sarah Choate Sears: Artist, Photographer and Art Patron, MA Thesis, Syracuse University, 1985
- Erica Hirshler, A Studio of Her Own: Women Artists in Boston 1870-1940, Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 2001