Voting Station

John Singer Sargent

Please vote to return to collections.

Artist

The Resume

    (January 12, 1856-April 14, 1925)
    Born in Florence, Italy
    Leading portrait painter of the late-Victorian and Edwardian eras
    Notable paintings include 'The Daughters of Edward Darley Bolt' (1882), 'The Lady with the Rose' (1882), 'Portrait of Madame X' (1884), 'Claude Monet Painting by the Edge of a Wood' (1885), 'Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose' (1887), 'Lady Agnew of Lochnaw' (1892), 'Theodore Roosevelt' (1903) and 'Almina, Daughter of Asher Westheimer' (1908)

Why he might be annoying:

    His 'Portrait of Madame X' caused a scandal that forced him to leave France for England.
    British critics considered him an Impressionist while the French Impressionists considered him too old fashioned to be a member.
    James McNeill Whistler disapproved of his loose brushwork, describing it as 'smudge everywhere.'
    He closed his studio in 1907, saying 'Painting a portrait would be quite amusing if one were not forced to talk while working…What a nuisance having to entertain the sitter and to look happy when one feels wretched.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was fluent in English, French, Italian and German.
    Despite having little formal instruction, he passed the rigorous entrance exam for the Ecole des Beaux-Arts on the first try.
    He was such a big name that some American clients would travel to London at their own expense to have him paint their portrait.
    He was rivaled only by Velazquez in his ability to reveal the personality of his sitter in a portrait.
    Andy Warhol said that Sargent 'made everybody look glamorous.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 18 Votes: 11.11% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 16 Votes: 56.25% Annoying