Margarett Sargent: A Tragic Life of Privilege

Margarett Sargent was a major international artist and socialite. Born in Wellesley in 1892, she was the granddaughter of Horatio Hollis Hunnewell and his wife, Elizabeth Pratt Welles Hunnewell. Hunnewell had amassed a large fortune in finance, railroads, mining, and real estate. On the Sargent side, Margarett’s early ancestors landed in Gloucester and made a fortune in the shipping and fishing industries. She was a distant cousin of the renowned artist John Singer Sargent and related to Henry Sargent, who had painted the historical scene The Landing of the Pilgrims, now in the Plymouth Museum. Margarett’s privileged background, however, could not protect her from mental illness and alcoholism, which over time resulted in her devastating demise. Learn more in the Digital Edition of the Spring 2023 Issue of WellesleyWeston Magazine.