Jules Joseph Lefebvre

Clark Morrison Jr. and Katherine Barnhart McMurrich Morrison, Oswego, New York (acquired at auction in New York before World War II)
Bequeathed to their son, John Morrison, Washington, D.C.
Thence by descent to the present owners

Known for his meticulous portraits of beautiful women, Jules Lefebvre was a graduate of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and a winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome. During his long career he earned numerous honors, among them the appointment to the Académie des Beaux-Arts and the rank of Commander in the Legion of Honor. As a professor at the Académie Julian in Paris he taught scores of American painters as well as others who went on to become famous in their own right, such as Fernand Khnopff, Kenyon Cox, and Félix Vallotton.

Lefebvre's choice of subjects included historical, mythological and literary figures, as well as the occasional royal portrait. In Sappho, the artist chose to depict the prolific poetess from the Greek island of Lesbos, famous and greatly admired through much of antiquity for her lyric poetry that has continued to influence poets ever since. Viewed in profile, the sitter's luminous features stand out against the muted backdrop and highlight the artist's incomparable skill in the treatment of flesh as well as texture. The golden laurel wreath glistening on her head, symbolizes the highest academic achievement, which together with the scroll in her hand, indicates Sapphos's induction into the group of the Nine Lyric Poets esteemed by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria.