Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose (1885-1886) by John Singer Sargent was painted en plein air - a French term for ‘painting outdoors.’ This method of painting was particularly important to 19th-century art movements such as the Hudson River School, the Barbizon School, and Impressionism.

The inspiration for the unique lighting effect came during an 1885 boating trip Sargent took with fellow painter Edwin Austin Abbey. On one evening, near the Thames at Pangbourne, he saw Chinese lanterns hanging from trees spreading light over beds of flowers. After Pangbourne, Sargent stayed with artist Francis David Millet at Farm House in Broadway, Worcestershire; and there he began working on the painting. Sargent’s progress was slow; he worked on the painting from September 1885 and completed it sometime in October 1886. It was because Sargent was determined to recreate the light effect from Pangbourne, and painted only a few minutes every evening to capture the same level of light at dusk.

The painting depicts two children lighting Chinese lanterns in a garden. The painting is set in the garden of the Cotswolds village of Broadway, and the models were Dolly and Polly Barnard, the daughters of Sargent’s friend, illustrator Frederick Bernard. He chose Dolly and Polly, who were 11 and 7 years old, because their light blonde hair complemented the color scheme. Sargent produced sketches and studies like Dorothy Barnard (1885-1886) and Polly Barnard (1885-1886) to capture them in their natural poses when painting. Each evening Sargent would prepare his easel and paints, and pose the girls ahead of time to catch the perfect light before it quickly disappeared. As autumn came, the flowers died, and Sargent had to replace them with artificial flowers. One of Sargent’s main preoccupations with the painting was the composition, and he gradually cut two feet off from the left side of the canvas. By doing this, Sargent created an almost square format that resulted in a more concentrated composition.

The title of the painting came from “The Wreath,” an 18th-century song by opera composer Joseph Mazzinghi. The chorus of the songs has the lines: “Tell me have you seen my Flora pass this way? A wreath around her head, around her head she wore, Carnation, lily, lily, rose”. The song possibly relates to the ambiance at Broadway, where Sargent and his friends would spend their evenings singing around the piano.

The painting was first exhibited in 1887 at the Royal Academy exhibition, where it received praise from audiences and critics. In 1887, Tate Gallery purchased the painting, an acquisition that was supported by influential figures such as the Royal Academy President Sir Frederic Leighton. The painting is part of the Tate collection and is displayed at Tate Britain in London.