Latest news with #JohnSingerSargent
New York Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
8 Art Shows to See Before They Close
Through Aug. 2 at the Museum of Modern Art, Manhattan; Jack Whitten, who moved from Alabama to New York in 1960, was not just a painter but a sculptural painter. Swaths of acrylic paint are swooped and layered across canvas. Cubes of dried paint conjoin in a textured mosaic, resembling glimmering stars against a night sky. Look closer, and 'suddenly the glops and drips look sonic, like musical bursts and pings,' the critic Holland Cotter wrote in his review for The New York Times. The exhibition showcases 180 paintings, sculptures and works on paper, and scintillates through the Museum of Modern Art's galleries, Cotter writes, in a refreshing career retrospective of 'a radically inventive artist who ranks right at the top of abstraction's pantheon.' Read the review. Through Aug. 3 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Manhattan, The portrait painter John Singer Sargent lived and traveled across Europe, North Africa and the United States, but it was his work during a formative decade in 19th-century Paris that catapulted him to recognition. In a collaboration between the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Musée d'Orsay, where the exhibition will appear in the fall, the show charts Sargent's success in his early career. 'We see just how he did it,' the critic Karen Rosenberg wrote in her review. 'With a lot of savoir-faire and a touch of the enfant terrible.' The exhibition builds to a climax around Sargent's scandalous 'Madame X,' in which the American expatriate Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, heavily powdered and daringly dressed in a cinched black gown, looks seductively over one shoulder. The close look at Sargent's cosmopolitan ascent as he found his footing adds up to, Rosenberg wrote, 'an evocative look at the belle epoque city where a young Sargent hit his stride.' Read the review. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Charles Spencer Posts Rare Portrait of Grandmother and the Resemblance to Sister Princess Diana Is Uncanny
Family resemblances are nothing new. Maybe a daughter inherits her dad's nose or a son has his mom's eyes—you get the idea. But every once in a while, there's a family resemblance so strong, it stops you in your tracks. That's exactly what's happening with a newly shared portrait of Princess Diana's grandmother, Cynthia Spencer. On July 8, Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, posted a series of black-and-white charcoal portraits to Instagram, writing, 'Close ups of charcoal portraits of my paternal grandparents, Cynthia and Jack Spencer.' According to the caption, the portraits were drawn in 1919, shortly after the couple married. Charles simply credited the artist as 'Sargent,' and while he didn't confirm it outright, many assume it could be the John Singer Sargent, the celebrated portraitist of the time. The standout image in the post is a close-up of their grandmother Cynthia—and the resemblance to Princess Diana is uncanny. From her soft, short hairstyle to her delicate features and expressive eyes, Cynthia could easily pass as Diana's twin. One scroll through the comments and you'll see the internet agrees. 'I can see Diana in your grandmother. So beautiful,' one person wrote. Another added, 'Your grandmother looks just like Diana, gorgeous,' while a third chimed in, 'Wow. Can see where your sisters get their looks from!' But the connection goes deeper than appearances. Charles's caption reflected on Cynthia's character, writing, 'Sargent captures the soft kindness that I will always remember as the essence of my grandmother: though she died when I was 8, she left an indelible impression on me.' Anwar Hussein/WireImage He added that Cynthia was one of the Queen Mother's closest courtiers and was beloved at the family estate in Althorp for her charitable work and down-to-earth nature. Sound familiar? Between the kindness, the elegance and the effortless grace—it's easy to see that Princess Diana didn't just get her grandmother's face. She seemed to inherited her spirit, too. Want all the latest royal news sent right to your inbox? Click here. Prince William Just Hit a Major Milestone (With a Nod to Princess Diana)
West Australian
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Unlikely link between legendary artist and small English village explored in art exhibition
Just days after coming face-to-face with one of John Singer Sargent's most breathtaking paintings, Lady Agnew Of Lochnaw, I find myself in the heart of the English Cotswolds getting a left-of-field glimpse into the renowned American artist. I'm at the Broadway Museum and Art Gallery, where an intimate exhibition marking the centenary of Sargent's death explores how this quaint Worcestershire village played a surprisingly crucial role in his artistic development. After the explosion of controversy of his portrait Madame X at the Paris Salon of 1884 (which practically tipped Paris high society on its head), Sargent came to England to seek refuge from the chaos. At the time, Broadway was becoming a creative hub for both American and British artists, and it wasn't long before Sargent was drawn to its picturesque charm alongside friends Edwin Austin Abbey and Francis Davis Millet. Unbound by the societal pressures of Paris, Sargent began experimenting with light, colour, and composition. It was here in Broadway, while residing at Farnham House, the home of Millet, that he painted some of his most celebrated, transformative works. But unlike the masterpiece I saw a few days ago at National Galleries Scotland, the paintings hanging before me today are works rarely seen by the public, with a personal edge to them — mostly depictions of Sargent's closest loved ones. Starting with an affectionate tone, the exhibition opens with heartfelt portraits of Sargent's younger sisters Emily and Violet. His portrait of Alice Barnard, wife of illustrator Frederick Barnard, is a masterclass in textural depth, and a true feast for the eyes for those who view it in person. She stands tall and proud in a voluminous gown, rendered with brushstrokes that swirl through an array of greys and whites. 'The Barnards, along with their daughters Polly and Dolly, the models for Sargent's Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, were among the first of the group of friends to arrive in Broadway in the summer of 1885,' reads a plaque next to the painting. Sargent's oil depiction of Polly and Dolly lighting lanterns at dusk was painted during his time at Broadway and was inspired by the impressionists of the time, including Claude Monet. It would go on to become a highly influential work, not just for the artist himself, but for the English art scene to which he was contributing. Michael Shane Neal, chairman of the Portrait Society of America, notes: 'He exhibited the piece in London in 1887 and it quickly became a sensation. The English critics had refused to widely celebrate French Impressionism until this moment, when they found satisfaction from an American artist, painting in a French quasi-impressionist style, in England!' Of course, no John Singer Sargent exhibition would be complete without works depicting his beloved friend (and dare I say, muse) Flora Priestley. Lifelong friends, the pair shared a strong connection, and Sargent painted her throughout the 1800s. Two strikingly different portraits of Flora sit side by side on display, painted between 1885 and 1889, and in 1889 respectively. The latter — described as the most 'highly evolved' of Sargent's portraits of Priestley — is rendered in a fluid, vibrant style that exemplifies the development of his technique, which took London by storm in the early 1890s. In addition to the oil paintings that fill the intimate gallery walls are personal items of the late great painter in cabinets — his original palette, manufactured by C. Roberson & Co of London (which remain in business to this day) and a selection of his paintbrushes. 'The exhibition is small but beautiful, bringing to life the artist's family and close friends at a time when his career seemed in jeopardy,' said Sargent's great-nephew Richard Ormond. 'His summers in Broadway revived his creative energies and set him on a new course. He painted the people who mattered to him in highly individual and touching portraits that reflect the influence of French progressive art.' While most people look to blockbuster galleries in capital cities — like the Louvre or the Met — for breathtaking art, sometimes it's in a quiet English village that you unexpectedly encounter it, woven into the fabric of an artist's personal journey. A leading one of his generation, at that. + Megan French was a guest of Albatross Tours. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication. + A visit to Broadway is included in Albatross Tours' Best of British. The 17-day tour starts and finishes in London, and visits Leeds Castle in Kent, Stonehenge and Salisbury, Bath, Glastonbury, Bristol and Tintern Abbey, Chester, the Lake District's Windemere and Grasmere, Gretna Green, Edinburgh and Alnwick Castle, Whitby and other spots in Yorkshire, Chatsworth and Stratford-upon-Avon, and Windsor. But it is at a slower pace, with a four-night stop, three of three nights, a two-night stop, and only one of one night. Travel is in a first-class coach with a tour manager, driver and local guides. The price includes 27 meals. Prices for 2026 are to be confirmed, but the price in 2025 was $13,347 per person, twin share, and $16,547 for solo travellers. and 0734 974 996 or 07 3221 5353 + John Singer Sargent and his Circle is at Broadway Museum and Art Gallery, supported by the Ashmolean Museum, until July 19, 2025. Open Monday to Saturday 10-4.30pm + Ticket prices are; adult £10 (or £16 for a guided tour), 65years+, concessions and students £7, and under-16s free. To book online, visit
Epoch Times
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Epoch Times
‘Sargent and Paris' at the Met
John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) was the most lauded portraitist of his day. At the height of his career, he painted the crème de la crème of society: Gilded Age titans of industry, American dollar princesses, and aristocratic Edwardian beauties. The foundations of his artistic practice can be traced to his time in Paris, where he arrived in 1874 at age 18 and stayed for a decade. He drew inspiration from his teacher, contemporary painters, a varied social circle of creatives and patrons, and art history. 'Sargent and Paris,' a special exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on view through Aug. 3, 2025, explores this productive, essential period of his work. The show culminates in a presentation of Sargent's pivotal painting 'Madame X,' but the exhibition's ingenuity is that it places the artwork in the context of his rich, early Parisian portraits. Training in Paris
Vogue
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue
From the Archives: Who Was Madame X? Hamish Bowles Shares the Back Story on John Singer Sargent's Most Famous Sitter
'The Madame X Files,' by Hamish Bowles, was originally published in the January 1999 issue of Vogue. For more of the best from Vogue's archive, sign up for our Nostalgia newsletter here. John Singer Sargent's 1884 portrait of Virginie Avegno Gautreau, universally acclaimed as Madame X, is a definitive study in image-making. La Gautreau flaunts her otherworldly looks and her chosen role as that exotic ornament to society, a professional beauty. She is a sphinx without a secret, 'prophetic of all the sophisticated chic of Vogue,' as Philippe Jullian, historian of fin-de-siècle culture, noted in 1965. But who was this fascinator whose mystery remains compelling more than a century after Sargent captured it in sensual oil paints? John Singer Sargent, whose career is celebrated in a retrospective at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., from February 21 to May 31 (and then traveling to Boston), with a related show of drawings at the Corcoran Gallery of Art from February 14 through May 9, was born in Florence in 1856. His American parents led peripatetic lives and raised their children gypsy fashion, traveling restlessly across Europe. By the early 1880s, after a solid schooling in the atelier of the respected academician Carolus-Duran and at the École des Beaux-Arts, Sargent was already establishing a name for himself in Paris as both a portraitist and a painter of exotic genre scenes of Italy, Spain, France, and Morocco. It seems inevitable that he should have been bewitched by the notorious Victoire Gautreau since throughout his career, Sargent was drawn to unconventionally exotic beauties. He had already delighted in the feral charms of Rosina Ferrara, a Capri girl, and mysterious Moroccan beauties like the one imbibing incense in his Fumée d'Ambre Gris, painted in 1880. Later, he produced some of his most spirited portraits when presented with sitters like the haughty Spanish dancer Carmencita; the art dealer Asher Wertheimer's lively daughters Almina, Ena, and Betty; the madcap Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney; and Vaslav Nijinsky. He called the fabulous and extravagant beauty Rita de Acosta Lydig 'Art in its living form,' and presumably Madame Pierre Gautreau's symbolist looks inspired similar sentiments. Sargent found her 'strange, weird, fantastic, curious.' Fascinated, he determined to capture her as a sitter, and he embarked on an elaborate courtship. He began by enlisting the help of a mutual friend, Ben del Castillo, to whom he wrote, 'I have a great desire to paint her portrait and have reason to think she would allow it and is waiting for someone to propose this homage to her beauty... tell her that I am a man of prodigious talent.' Virginie Gautreau conceded. The sittings began in Paris in 1883, and that summer Sargent set off for the Gautreaus' country estate, the Château des Chesnes at Paramé in Brittany. Here, among the immemorial oaks that gave the 1708 house its name, the Gautreaus had planted clumps of pampas grasses and tropical palms in accordance with the fashionably exotic taste of Troisième République society.
