Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends

An Out-of-Doors Study, 1889
"Throughout his career, the celebrated American painter John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) created portraits of artists, writers, actors, and musicians, many of whom were his close friends. Because these works were rarely commissioned, he was free to create images that were more radical than those he made for paying clients. He often posed these sitters informally—in the act of painting, singing, or performing, for example. Together, the portraits constitute a group of experimental paintings and drawings—some of them highly charged, others sensual, and some of them intimate, witty, or idiosyncratic. The exhibition Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends, which opened at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on June 30, brings together about 90 of these distinctive portraits, including numerous loans from private collections. It will also explore in depth the friendships between Sargent and those who posed for him as well as the significance of these relationships to his life and art. ..."
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art: About the Exhibition
Metropolitan Museum of Art: Audio Guide
NY Times: Highlights From 'Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends' at the Met
Guardian - Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends review – invention, sex and sadness
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