John Singer Sargent is known as the greatest portrait artist of his era. What made his ‘swagger’ portraits remarkable was his power over his sitters, what they wore and how they were presented. Through interviews with curators and fashionistas, this film directed by David Bickerstaff examines how Sargent’s unique practice has influenced modern art, culture and fashion.
Filmed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Tate Britain, the exhibition features 50 paintings, along with clothing and accessories worn by Sargent’s subjects. You are invited into the artist’s studio and the glittering world of fashion, scandal and self-promotion that made Sargent the painter who defined an era.