1883, John Singer Sargent, Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherford White (Mrs. Henry White) -- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) (special exhibition)
From the museum label: After establishing his reputation in Paris by exhibiting portraits of friends, acquaintances, and members of artistic society, Sargent reached an important turning point with this striking portrait. Margaret White (1854-1916), the socially prominent wife of an American diplomat in Paris, had admired Sargent's work at the Salon and was the first member of high society to commission work from him. Sargent contrived a formal setting that recalls so-called grand manner portraits by old masters, complete with a gilded settee and swags of drapery. His bravura rendering of her gown's lush satin adds to the atmosphere of opulence. When the Whites were reassigned to London in 1884, the painting hung in their dining room, where it was admired by their prominent guests, thus furthering Sargent's international career.
1883, John Singer Sargent, Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherford White (Mrs. Henry White) -- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) (special exhibition)
From the museum label: After establishing his reputation in Paris by exhibiting portraits of friends, acquaintances, and members of artistic society, Sargent reached an important turning point with this striking portrait. Margaret White (1854-1916), the socially prominent wife of an American diplomat in Paris, had admired Sargent's work at the Salon and was the first member of high society to commission work from him. Sargent contrived a formal setting that recalls so-called grand manner portraits by old masters, complete with a gilded settee and swags of drapery. His bravura rendering of her gown's lush satin adds to the atmosphere of opulence. When the Whites were reassigned to London in 1884, the painting hung in their dining room, where it was admired by their prominent guests, thus furthering Sargent's international career.