Lady Warwick (1861–1938)—author, socialist, founder of agricultural colleges, and vigorous supporter of the British labor movement—appears with her son Maynard (1898–1960) in her other role as a model of aristocratic grandeur and fashionable beauty. Although the elegant clothing and the countess’s long strand of pearls may seem lavish today, they are less elaborate than many elite fashions at this moment. This simplicity and the elongation of the figures are intended to give them a timeless dignity appropriate to their high social position. By posing the pair before a brushy landscape, Sargent recalls earlier English portraitists whose work was widely admired during the Edwardian period, such as Thomas Gainsborough and Thomas Lawrence, examples of which hang in a nearby gallery.

John Singer Sargent, 1905,
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA, 12/27/19