Born in Florence to American parents, John Singer Sargent (1856 – 1925) was celebrated as a cosmopolitan expatriate painter of international renown. His lucrative career inspired comparisons to Velazquez, Van Dyck, Reynolds and Manet whilst his extraordinary technical ability produced a remarkable body of varied work over many decades. Having mastered academic painting in his early maturity, his style broadened from an excessive refinement to the use of broad masses of colour, articulated via light and shadow.

Initially, Sargeant settled in Paris before moving to England permanently. Thereafter, multiple Atlantic crossings and regular visits to the continent broadened his range. Fresh and informal compositions in landscape and genre painting garnered admiration and new clients eclipsing his rivals. Sargent’s artistic legacy undoubtedly remains that of a master of the Grand Manner portrait - he captured figures as they wanted to be seen with vivid flair at the cusp of modernity amidst Edwardian-era luxury.

Over the course of two lectures James Hill will introduce John Singer Sargent’s remarkable life and career through his greatest paintings and lesser-known works. The influences which shaped his style, his close circle and the contemporaries he courted both within the art world and the fashionable society of the time on both sides of the Atlantic will be explored.