Heiress: Sargent’s American Portraits

John Singer Sargent, Miss Daisy Leiter, 1989, Kenwood House, English Heritage.

Heiress: Sargent’s American Portraits reveals the real stories behind the fascinating American women who crossed the Atlantic to marry British aristocrats in an exchange of money for titles. These women include a war-time nurse and the first sitting female MP.

Sargent was one of the most sought-after artists of the Gilded Age and was ‘the artist’ to depict these intriguing women. On the centenary of his death, the exhibition is a salute to John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), the most admired and sought-after portraitist of the Gilded Age on both sides of the Atlantic. These portraits represent some of his most glamorous and powerful works. In addition to full-length oil paintings, masterful charcoal portraits will also feature, depicting their subjects in a candid and perceptive light.