John Singer Sargent was born to American parents in 1856 in Florence, Italy. He studied briefly at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, before moving to France to train under Carolus-Duran in 1874. In Paris he met frequently with Degas, Renoir, Sisley and Pissarro, and became friends with Claude Monet. Sargent's daring portrait of Madame Pierre Gautreau, exhibited at the Salon in 1884, caused much sensation in the press, prompting him to leave Paris for London in 1886. Sargent soon established himself as the most sought-after portrait painter of the élite in the country, producing works characterised by a fluid painting style, remarkable for his expressive brushwork and bold handling of light.
Painter and muralist, John Singer Sargent was born to American parents at the Casa Arretini in Florence, Italy on 12 January 1856. Although the family celebrated his birthday on that date, family letters gave his actual birth date as 10 January. His father, Fitzwilliam Sargent, was an eminent doctor and his mother, Mary Newbold Singer, came from a prosperous merchant family in Philadelphia. As a girl she had travelled in Italy and within four years of her marriage she persuaded her husband to give up his practice and to settle in Florence in 1854. A keen watercolourist, she was one of the first to recongnise her son's talent and was largely responsible for his dedication to art. Sargent briefly studied painting at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, before moving to France to train under Carolus-Duran in 1874.
In Paris he met frequently with the most renowned painters of the day, Degas, Renoir, Sisley and Pissarro, but Claude Monet was the artist with whom he was on the friendliest terms. He visited him frequently between 1887 and 1891, producing two portraits in 1885 and again in 1888 (Tate collection and National Academy, New York). In 1884 Sargent caused a sensation at the Paris Salon with his unconventional painting Madame X (1883-84, Metropolitan Museum), a portrait of Madame Pierre Gautreau, an American woman living in Paris famous for her eccentric beauty. Sargent emphasised her daring personal style, showing the right strap of her gown slipping from her shoulder. A study of the painting, donated by émigré art dealer, Sir Joseph Duveen, is in the Tate collection. The portrait received more ridicule than praise, with one critic writing ‘This portrait is simply offensive in its insolent ugliness and defiance of every rule of art […]’ (Herdrich 2000, p. 18) and its largely hostile reception was one factor spurring Sargent’s decision to leave Paris for London in 1886.
Sargent immediately took Whistler's old studio at Tite Street, Chelsea. The American writer, Henry James, whom Sargent had already met in London and who admired his paintings, introduced and promoted him in London society. Sargent promptly painted a portrait of the Misses Vickers (Sheffield Galleries) which was exhibited at the Salon in 1885, and at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) in 1886. The Vickers quickly appreciated his talent, becoming his first English patrons. Sargent spent the autumn months of 1885 and 1886 at Broadway in Worcestershire with a group of Anglo-American artists, including Edwin Abbey and Frank Millet, and writers Henry James and Edmund Gosse. During this intensely creative time Sargent painted his famous Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose (Tate), which was both acclaimed and derided at the 1887 RA exhibition. Nevertheless, Sargent soon established himself as the most fashionable portrait painter of the élite in the country, famous for combining elegance with a keen eye for distinctive details that conveyed the essential characteristics of a sitter. He used a fluid painting style, remarkable for his expressive brushwork and bold handling of light. A prolific artist, he created over 900 paintings and 2,000 watercolours. Sargent's reputation reached its height in the 1890s, and his clientele consisted of the most affluent, aristocratic, and fashionable people of the time. His sitters included actresses Marie Lohr and Dame Ellen Terry and writers, Robert Louis Stevenson and Henry James. In 1893 his Lady Agnew of Lochnaw (National Galleries of Scotland), with its spontaneous feel, and his Mrs Hugh Hammersley (Metropolitan Museum of Art) were triumphs at the RA and New Gallery, respectively. By the mid-1890s, Sargent was in such demand as a portraitist that he was painting three sitters a day. Mrs. Carl Meyer and her Children (1896, Tate) exemplified his technical virtuosity and the influence of European masters such as Titian, Velázquez, and Gainsborough, in its reinterpretation of grand manner portraiture. The work received great popular and critical acclaim and was a highlight of the RA’s exhibition in 1897.
Around 1906 Sargent abandoned portraiture and worked primarily in watercolour, often en plein air. Sargent was a founder member of the New English Art Club (NEAC) in 1886 and became a regular exhibitor. The following year he was elected Royal Academician and to New York's National Academy of Design and created Officier of the French Order of the Legion of Honor. Sargent retained his American citizenship and continued to visit the USA where, as well as portraits, he worked on a series of decorative paintings for public buildings. John Singer Sargent died at his home in London, England on 15 April 1925. Memorial exhibitions were held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, London's Royal Academy, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. His work is represented in UK collections including the Tate, National Portrait Gallery and National Gallery. In 2015 the NPG presented Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends.