John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent was an American painter and the most celebrated portrait artist of his generation. Born in Florence in 1856 to American parents, he trained in Paris and became famous for dazzling, elegant portraits of wealthy and fashionable society on both sides of the Atlantic. His confident, fluid brushwork could suggest silk, skin, and jewelry with astonishing ease.

One daring portrait of a woman in a black gown caused such scandal in Paris that it damaged his career there and pushed him toward London. Beyond portraits he painted brilliant watercolors of his travels and powerful scenes as a war artist. Sargent's glamour, skill, and flair have kept him among the most admired painters of his age.