Jan 1, 2005 12:00 PM

, Rorie M. Sherman Editor in Chief

Rorie M. Sherman Editor in Chief

In the 1880s, early in John Singer Sargent's career, he confronted a dilemma when painting children's portraits for wealthy English patrons. The artist, born in Italy to American parents, had studied art in Paris then practiced in France. But his then-audacious portrait of an expatriate woman, “Madame X,” forced him to migrate to England, where the choice of child portraiture proved a decisive step in his career. But should he continue along the line of the sentimentalizing portraits fashionable at the time? It might earn him a pretty penny. Or should he break out into new territory guided by his own tastes and wish to experiment in such new techniques as Impressionism?

Sargent chose the latter course, with a bow now and then to the former. The result was a complete success, benefiting both pocketbook and reputation. From there Sargent would move on to other subjects, including adult portraits, landscapes and paintings with figures in them. He established himself as one of the period's greatest portrait painters. His portraits are still in great demand today. Witness the November sale by Sotheby's of “Robert Louis Stevenson and his Wife,” which garnered $8.8 million.