Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose

This is my favorite John Singer Sargent painting and we have been enjoying a book about the story of its creation called "Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose: The Story of a Painting" by Hugh Brewster. It is told from the point of view of a little girl, Kate Millet. Her parents are friends of Sargent's and invite him to their home. Sargent is inspired one night when he see children playing with paper lanterns in their yard at twilight. So, he set up a fairly elaborate scene of models, potted plants and other props. The problem was that he could only paint for about twenty every evening when the light was just right so that the lanterns looked as if they were glowing. Thus, it took him a long time to paint this scene.
The name of the painting comes from a song that was sung at a party for Kate's mother's birthday. The song is called "Ye Shepherds Tell Me". You can listen to a recording of it here. If you listen closely, you can hear the lyrics in the second verse as they say, "Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose".