John Singer Sargent

Available Works

Biography

 John Singer Sargent (b. Florence, 1859-1925) is a renowned painter known for his daring portraits and impressionistic landscapes. Sargent was born in Florence to an elite American family and spent the majority of his early years in European schooling, including at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in 1874. His portraits would become widely successful at the Paris Salon, earning him recognition amongst European and American elites such as the Roosevelts, Henry G. Marquand, Lord Leighton, and many others. In 1883, Sargent became entranced by an American expatriate socialite, painting a portrait of her for the Paris Salon, deemed Portrait of Madame X, This daring portrait caused an uproar amongst society and the salon, eventually leading to Sargent fleeing France to focus on portraits of people and landscapes in England and America.

Towards the end of his career, Sargent stopped traveling and primarily focused on landscapes in the two countries. His work, Sir William Headworth Williamson, 10th Baronet was created during a unique time in Sargent’s career.. At the end of his life, Sargent, surrounded by scenes of WWI, began primarily depicting landscapes of war. It was incredibly rare for Sargent to return to portraiture, yet in 1924 he created a charcoal drawing of Sir William Headworth Williamson, an English nobleman who was the 10th Baronet of East Markham. The portrait depicts an arresting figure looking directly into the eyes of the viewer, while Sargent’s expressive lines of charcoal configure vignette-like haze around the subject. Sir William Headworth Williamson is one of the last portraits by Sargent before his death in 1925. A rare charcoal by Sargent, the work expresses a lifelong commitment to portraiture, impressionistic influences, and Sargent’s audacious style.

Sargent’s works are widely collected by major institutions and collectors across the globe. His work is in the permanent collections of the Musee D’Orsay, Paris, France, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK, and the National Portrait Gallery, London, UK, among many others.