John Singer Sargent, Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes, 1897
This painting was a wedding gift to this wealthy young couple, both of whom inherited substantial fortunes. In what ways does the artist, a famous portraitist, represent Edith Minturn Stokes as a “New Woman” of the 1890s? What does he suggest about the relationship between husband and wife? How might we reconcile this with the painting’s title, which identifies the central figure as “Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes,” not as “Edith”? Mrs. Stokes was a noted beauty and active in an array of charitable causes. Here she wears a shirtwaist and skirt, more practical than the traditional heavy dresses and bustles of the previous decade. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY.