John Singer Sargent was born in Boston, Massachusetts on April 13, 1856. His family moved to Europe in 1866, where he studied at the Royal Academy of Munich and the Académie Julian in Paris. After his move to London he studied under Sir James MacNeil Alexander at the Royal Academy of Art. He received his first commission for a portrait in 1877
Sargent rose to prominence as a painter of portraits and landscapes of the English upper classes. However, after his marriage to artist Frances Danby in 1881, his focus shifted to portraiture. Sargent became an accomplished portrait painter.
He was named the official portrait painter of Queen Victoria in 1885 and painted more than 200 portraits of her family members during her lifetime; four months after her death in 1901, Sargent painted another eight portraits of the royal family.
Every time I paint a portrait I lose a friend.John Singer Sargent
You can't do sketches enough. Sketch everything and keep your curiosity fresh.John Singer Sargent
It is certain that at certain times talent entirely overcomes thought or poetry.John Singer Sargent
