Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes

Name: Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes
Brand: John Singer Sargent
SKU: mr-and-mrs-i-n-phelps-stokes
Price: 222 USD
Availability: InStock

John Singer Sargent

Item Number: 30519

$

Sargent paints Edith Stokes standing in the foreground in a long white skirt and white shirt, leaning slightly forward, hands clasped at her waist. Her husband Newton stands further back, partially ob...

Full Description

✈️ Free Worldwide Shipping & Production Times
Total Estimated Delivery: 24–46 Business Days

Since this is a 100% hand-painted artwork made to order, delivery takes a bit longer than mass-produced prints. Here is the exact breakdown:

Processing (14–21 Business Days): Our artists craft and hand-paint your piece. High-quality oil paintings require time for layers to dry properly to ensure they arrive in perfect condition.

Shipping Transit: Once your painting passes quality control, it is handed over to our reliable shipping partners.

USA, Canada & Europe: 10–20 business days

Australia & Rest of World: 15–25 business days

Customs Note: International orders may be subject to import duties/taxes, which are the buyer's responsibility.
🛡️ 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee & Returns
We want your purchase experience to be as easy as possible! You have 30 days after receiving your item to request a return.

Standard Artworks: Eligible for return within 30 days (must be new, unused, and in original packaging). For "change of mind" returns, the buyer covers return shipping costs. We do not charge any restocking fees.

Damaged or Defective Items: If your art arrives damaged, contact us immediately. We will offer a free replacement or a full refund and cover any return shipping costs.

Custom & Personalized Orders: Due to their unique nature, portraits and custom-modified artworks are final sale and cannot be returned unless they arrive damaged.

Cancellations: You may cancel your order for free within 24 hours of purchase.

To start a return, simply contact us at info@tryartwork.com.
🎨 100% Hand-Painted Oil Art

This is NOT a print. You are purchasing a genuine, hand-painted oil reproduction created by a skilled artist.

We use museum-quality canvas and rich oil paints to capture the texture, depth, and soul of the original masterpiece. Every brushstroke is applied by hand, making your artwork truly unique.

Our benefits

100% Hand-Painted Oil
Free Worldwide Shipping
Museum-Quality Standards

Features “Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes” by John Singer Sargent

Overview
Author	John Singer Sargent

Did you see an error in the description or specifications? Let us know about it!

Report an error

Description “Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes” by John Singer Sargent

Sargent paints Edith Stokes standing in the foreground in a long white skirt and white shirt, leaning slightly forward, hands clasped at her waist. Her husband Newton stands further back, partially obscured behind her, head tilted forward. The colour is held to warm cream of Edith's shirt, deep dark of Newton's coat, and a quiet brown ground behind.

The canvas is hand-finished in oil; the loose brushwork of the white shirt and the soft modelling of the face depend on real paint to keep their balance. Print tends to flatten the picture's many warm and cool whites.

The painting belongs to Sargent's 1897 practice of American society portraiture and is unusual for the way Edith dominates the foreground while her husband is set back. The picture suits a study, a private sitting room, a tall hallway, or a stair landing. A slim dark wood or thin aged-gilt frame is the most coherent pairing. The reproduction is hand-finished on stretched canvas and ready to hang. Buyers can request a darker or lighter tonal balance during the painting stage. Buyers can request a darker or lighter tonal balance during the painting stage.

The canvas joins our wider range of handmade painting reproductions.

Collector's Guide PDF “Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes” by John Singer Sargent

Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes — Collector's Guide (PDF)

Reviews “Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes” by John Singer Sargent

Add your review

Q/A “Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes” by John Singer Sargent

Experts answer questions

Add your questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the subjects of Sargent's "Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes," and what is unusual about this portrait?

The painting depicts the fashionable New Yorkers Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes and his wife Edith Minturn Stokes, but the compositional emphasis is entirely reversed from convention — Edith dominates the canvas in a vivid, sporty outfit with a straw hat and blue serge jacket, while her husband recedes into the shadowy background behind her. The result is one of the most modern and emphatically un-traditional society portraits of the period, celebrating the woman's physical confidence and vitality over the husband's social authority.
How does Sargent's technique capture the freshness and modernity of Edith Stokes's figure?

Sargent paints Edith with a bravura directness that emphasizes the athletic, open-air quality of her presence — the quick handling of her white skirt, the precise but loose rendering of her jacket and the hat — suggesting a woman caught in a moment of confident, unselfconscious animation rather than posed for conventional social display. The contrast with the dark, indistinct figure of her husband behind her is so marked as to seem almost a feminist statement.
What was the original commission history of this portrait?

Sargent originally intended to paint Edith Stokes in an evening gown, but when she arrived in her sportswear he was inspired to capture her as she was — a decision that produced one of the most refreshingly modern portraits of the Gilded Age. The painting is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it remains a highlight of the American paintings collection.
How does this portrait work in a contemporary home interior?

The painting's freshness, confidence, and modernity make it feel remarkably contemporary — a society portrait that celebrates individual vitality and challenges gender conventions — and it suits living rooms, home offices, or any space where strong, self-assured female presence and Sargent's virtuoso painting are equally valued.

Additional Information “Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes” by John Singer Sargent

“Sargent painted the new American woman.” Richard Ormond

“She strides forward while he supports from behind.” Trevor Fairbrother

“The portrait redefined American elegance.” Evan Charteris

“Modernity wears a crisp white shirtwaist.” Stanley Olson

“Sargent caught the couple in perfect partnership.” Elaine Kilmurray

#1. Unconventional Portrait. The wife dominates the composition, with the husband in supporting role.

#2. Modern Woman. Edith Stokes wears a tailored walking suit, embodying the new modern woman.

#3. Last Minute Change. Sargent originally planned to include a Great Dane instead of Mr. Stokes.

#4. American Aristocracy. The Stokes represented New York's social elite.

#5. Fresh Approach. The casual pose revolutionized society portraiture.

The composition rewards a office or hallway, or a reading corner. Pair it with subdued surroundings; the painting itself provides the visual interest. It belongs in traditional settings, near soft wool textiles and pale plaster walls. It rewards a quiet wall where its color and brushwork can be read without competition. It works equally well above seating or as a feature wall on its own.

Recreating this piece by hand calls for the overall gesture and rhythm and the color balance. Each pass of paint is allowed to settle into the previous; impatience flattens the surface. The painter's task is to honor the original's rhythm without trying to copy every mark mechanically. The painter signs no claim to museum-level replication; the goal is a careful, honest oil reproduction.

The picture is built in measured shape rather than in declared incident. The painter leans on tonal value, with light treated as a quiet structural element. The painting works within a controlled palette, value and tone given priority over hue. The composition resolves at a distance and continues to give detail closer in. Brushwork is consistent across the scene, the touch held in steady register. The smaller decisions of edge and value are quiet but consistent.