William Sergeant Kendall (1869-1938) was a celebrated artist in his day. He studied at the prestigious Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, was named a National Academician, and garnered a slew of gold and silver medals. He was equally gifted as a painter and sculptor. He even carved many of his own frames, including the round one you see here. Yet today, his work gathers dust in attics and languishes in the storage facilities of major museums. Who was this artist? And where are his paintings and sculptures now?
My name is Anne Underwood Enslow, and I am Kendall’s great-granddaughter. His eldest daughter, Elisabeth–the girl in green in L’Allegro, the painting on the right–was my grandmother. I am currently trying to locate as many of Kendall’s works as possible for a book. If you know where any of his paintings or sculptures are, I would love to know. I have combed through archives, read the artist’s letters and journals, and found names of people who purchased his paintings 100 years ago—but where are these works today?
I know that some were ravaged in fires. Some were stolen. Some disappeared. Some were trimmed to remove his signature and were passed off as works by Mary Cassatt. I need to rescue what remains before it is too late. With your permission, I will make high quality digital photos of them.
If you have any information or questions, please email me at anne.underwood at gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you. And thank you for your interest.