Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
- Artist: John Singer Sargent
- Date: 1900
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 33 in. x 26 in. (838 mm x 660 mm)
- Portrays: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is an oil portrait from 1900 by John Singer Sargent. The canvas shows Elizabeth Garrett Anderson in her plain academic gown, the choice she made for its simplicity. A delicate pearl necklace has been added at the artist’s suggestion – a small detail that brightens an otherwise restrained look.
Sargent’s brushwork settles gently on her face and hands; the neutral background lets us see her profile and expression without distraction. The portrait captures her calm confidence, hinting at the professional stature he wanted to convey.
In 1865 she became the first British woman to qualify as a physician. Within a decade she founded the New Hospital for Women in London, a place staffed entirely by women. A year later, in 1908, she was elected England’s first female mayor of Aldeburgh. The portrait stands beside that of her sister Millicent Fawcett and reflects Sargent’s status as Britain’s leading portraitist at the turn of the twentieth century.
See it in person
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
