Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Richmond, VA
804 367-0844
John Singer Sargent: Portraits of the Wertheimer Family
July 11 - October 29, 2000
Born in Florence, trained in Paris, headquartered
in London and constantly on the road, John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) remained
an outsider, a born observer well equipped to act as the premier portraitist
during a turbulent era of change at the turn of the 20th century. This exhibition
features 12 portraits of Asher Wertheimer and his family that Sargent painted
between 1898 and 1908. (left: Ena and Betty Wertheimer, 1901,
oil on canvas, 73 x 51 1/2 inches, Photo © The Tate Gallery, London)
Wertheimer's establishment as a prominent art dealer on
Bond Street in London coincided with 
Sargent's heyday as a fashionable portraitist capturing
a new clientele - sitters from self-made families who increasingly dominated
social, political and economic circles. This exhibition marks the first
time these lavish portraits have been shown together in more than 70 years.
The national tour of the exhibition is supported by the State of New York;
the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; Betty and John Levin,
the Morris S. and Florence H. Bender Foundation; and the David Schwartz
Foundation. The Virginia presentation is funded by gifts from The Council
of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and patrons of the museum. (right:
Mrs. Asher B. Wertheimer, 1898, oil on canvas, 58 x 37 1/2 inches, New
Orleans Museum of Art)
For more on this subject please see our coverage of the Jewish Museum's: John Singer Sargent: Portraits of the Wertheimer Family (9/26/99) and prior articles including John Singer Sargent (7/8/99) and John Singer Sargent in Houston Collections (9/21/98)
Read more about the Virginia
Museum of Fine Arts in Resource Library
Magazine
For further biographical information please see America's Distinguished Artists, a national registry of historic artists.
rev. 12/30/10
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