"Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends"

Considered by many to be the greatest portrait painter of his time, the American artist John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was never at a loss for commissions from wealthy and aristocratic patrons on both sides of the Atlantic.  Indeed, his portrayals of pillars of society, business tycoons and leaders of government are masterpieces of both technical proficiency and psychological depth and are prized works in important collections around the world.

Less well known but equally captivating are his non-commercial portraits, views of his friends and artistic colleagues painted with a certain familiarity and spontaneity as they worked and played.  For the first time ever, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has brought together ninety-two of these more private depictions in the exhibition "Sargent:  Portraits of Artists and Friends".

While these paintings and watercolors are every bit as masterful as his commercial works, they are somewhat more intimate and transparent and therefore a truer representation of the sitters.  For example, his view of the Belle Epoque artist Paul Helleu painting en plein-air while his wife reclines by the side of a red canoe, is a study of a colleague at work...

And this pose of the writer Robert Louis Stevenson, wasted with tuberculosis but with a nervous energy radiating from his painfully thin body...

Or this informal portrait of the businessman and philanthropist Charles Deering relaxing at his home in Brickell Point, near Miami, Florida.  Sargent's loose brushstrokes convey the brilliant white sunshine enveloping his elderly friend and patron as he sits among the palm fronds...

Even his more composed portraits of his friends possess a special intimacy.  Take, for example, this magnificent, life size pose of Mrs. Hugh Hammersley resplendent in a cerise velvet gown while sitting on a satin covered settee.  Despite the formality of the dress and the interior, the sitter is perched in a casual posture and with a warm and friendly expression on her lovely face...

Likewise, this impressive representation of Sargent's friend and fellow painter William Merritt Chase shows reflects his imposing and engaging personality.  The story goes that Chase arrived at Sargent's London studio with both his working attire (in which he was painted) and a more formal frock coat (which Chase preferred).  Nevertheless, the painted likeness captures both the artist and the gentleman of Chase's exuberant persona...

This exhibition is enhanced with a gallery devoted to works on paper, especially Sargent's wonderful watercolors but with a few lovely drawings included as well.  Again, Sargent proves to be a master of not only the medium, but of capturing the more intimate expressions of his friends as he paints them.  In this watercolor view of Venice we find the artists Wilfred and Jane de Glehn enjoying a gondola ride on their honeymoon.  While Wilfred sketches beneath a canopy, his new bride watches his work and Sargent captures the moment from a second, separate gondola whose bow can be seen in the lower left corner of the composition...

Any exhibition of works by John Singer Sargent is bound to be fantastic, but this one has a very special appeal.  Far more than simply renderings of famous or wealthy people, these are character studies executed by paintbrush - intimate, witty, penetrating and frank - testaments to true friendship and artistic genius.