George Frederick Francisco Sargent, usually called Frederick Sargent, the eldest child of George Frederick Sargent and his Spanish wife Rosa, was born in London on 10th May 1837, five weeks after his parents' marriage. His father (1811–1864) was a prolific wood-engraver, including for illustrated periodicals. In 1854, and for the next 20 years – as 'Frederick Sargent' - he began exhibiting small watercolour portraits and miniatures at the RA. After his parents' separation before 1861 he lived with his mother, and in that year’s census (Clapham) is listed as an 'Artist in Oils'.
Later he took to painting big multi-portrait oils, together with single celebrity portraits (e.g. Disraeli, Gladstone, Dickens), all apparently designed to be issued as prints.
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Queen Victoria briefly sat to him, possibly for a miniature, in 1884. She later wrote of his larger work that she did not wish 'to encourage the multiplication of his daubs', possibly after seeing The Court of Queen Victoria (1885), which she declined to purchase, though it is now in the Royal Collection: that Collection nonetheless bought his The Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, 20 June 1887 in 1994, and other similar large compositions are in Manchester and the Government Art Collection. Later still, Sargent was one of the first artists to live and work at St Ives, but ultimately died in poverty. He and his father have often been confused, with the name 'Francisco' wrongly applied to the latter: there is so far no evidence that the son's work was reproduced as wood engravings, so mid-century ones with the Sargent name on them are after George senior.
Summarised from Art UK's Art Detective discussion 'Is this one of Sickert’s Echoes?’
Text source: Art Detective
