John Singer Sargent

Mrs. Charles Beatty Alexander (the sitter), New York
Mrs. Arnold Whitridge (her daughter), 1935
By descent to the present owner 

New York, The American Art Association, American Art Galleries, Loan Exhibition of Portraits for the Benefit of the Orthopaedic Dispensary and Hospital, November 1903, no. 212
Chicago, Illinois, Art Institute of Chicago and Exhibition Committee of the Municipal Art League of Chicago, Loan Exhibition of Portraits, January 1905, no. 111 (as Mrs A.)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, One Hundred and First Annual Exhibition, 1906, no. 528
New York, Grand Central Art Galleries, Portraits of Yesterday and Today, A Loan Exhibition Showing Distinguished Personalities of the New York Scene in The Golden Nineties...For the Benefit of the American Red Cross, May 1943, no. 1
New York, New York Historical Society, Retrospective Exhibition of 20th Century American Portraits, April-May 1945, no. 64
San Francisco, California, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Sargent and Boldini, October-November 1959, no. 14

William Howe Downes, John S. Sargent: His Life and Works, Boston, Massachusetts, 1925, p. 259
Evan Charteris, John Sargent, London, England,1927, p. 278
Charles Merrill Mount, John Singer Sargent: A Biography, New York, 1955, p. 437; 1957, p. 346; 1969, p. 430
David McKibbin, Sargent's Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, 1956, p. 81
Richard Ormond and Elaine Kilmurray, John Singer Sargent: The Later Portraits, New Haven, Connecticut, 2003, vol. III, no. 419, pp. 74-75, 288, illustrated

This work is in good condition. The canvas is lined. There is craquelure in the center left background beside the figure's elbow and in the black area above her hair. Under UV: there is a 2x4 inch L-shaped repaired tear in the upper left background and a 3-inch vertical repaired tear near the lower right corner. There are a few other scattered dots of inpainting – all minor.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

According to Elaine Kilmurray, "Mrs Charles Alexander, née Harriet Crocker (1859-1935) was the daughter of Charles Crocker of San Francisco, one of the Big Four who built the Central Pacific Railroad across the Sierra Nevada Mountains to connect with the Union Pacific Railroad, then under construction westwards from Omaha. She married Charles Beatty Alexander, a distinguished New York lawyer, in 1887. They lived in a mansion on the site of the present Bergdorf Goodman department store, and were collectors and patrons of art (Mrs. Alexander was painted by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida and by the American artist Benjamin C. Porter). Their wealth and style made them prominent figures in society, but they seemed to represent an older, more gracious New York that was passing. On the day of Alexander's funeral (9 February 1927), the art dealer René Gimpel wrote: 'His wife leads all society here. With him, a moment in American life comes to an end. While he was sinking, the pickaxes of the demolition people were tearing down the [Alfred] Vanderbilt mansion next to his; forty stories are to rise on the site of a very dignified residence' (Gimpel 1992, p. 323).

...The portrait was painted in London: both the iron seat and the eighteenth-century French bust of a man in the background can be identified as items in the artist's Tite Street studio" (Elaine Kilmurray and Richard Ormond, John Singer Sargent: The Later Portraits, New Haven, Connecticut, 2003, pp. 74-75).