Sargent Quote Mug

Sold Out $15.00

Letter to Isabella Stewart Gardner from London, 14 April 1889
John Singer Sargent (Florence, 1856–1925, London)
Ink on card stock

In 1899, while John Singer Sargent was living abroad in London, U.S. newspapers erroneously reported that the artist had died. So as not to worry his friend in the Fens, Sargent sent a telegram posthaste to Isabella Stewart Gardner at her Beacon Street home. The telegram to Mrs. Gardner–received on her 49th birthday–simply read:

Alive and kicking
Sargent.

A meticulous museum administrator wrote “answer to report that he was dead” on the lower left corner of the telegraph. The telegraph remains in the Museum’s Long Gallery presently, and serves as a reminder of the vibrant friendship between Sargent and Gardner.
11 oz. ceramic mug
Dishwasher and microwave safe