Mall Galleries Marks 100 Years Since John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent RA RP (1856 – 1925) was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 1903. The Society is delighted to be able to celebrate its distinguished former member in this, his centenary year.

The Sargent scholar, Richard Ormond, has very generously loaned Sargent’s painting of ‘Conrad and Reine Ormond’ for this annual exhibition. Richard’s catalogue raisonné of Sargent’s drawings will be published in May and Richard has also very kindly agreed to give a talk about the drawings during the show, on Saturday 10 May at 4pm. Advance booking is required here. 

It is important for the Society to be reminded of its tradition and Sargent certainly represents one strand of that tradition, a quite glorious strand.

That contemporary portrait painters can see their work in such company is a wonderful opportunity for comparison; for noting similarities and differences, which will, in both cases, surprise some of us.

Conrad and Reine Ormond was painted in 1906, the same year that Cezanne made six oil portraits of his gardener, Vallier. The juxtaposition is interesting because Cezanne’s paintings too belong to the convention of the painted portrait. Quite different artists who were both responding to the presence of another and attempting to give form and colour to that experience. With the contrast of Sargent and Cezanne in mind, the variety and accomplishment of the portraits in this annual exhibition should not surprise; it should remind us that our tradition bubbles on.

The Royal Society of Portrait Painters is deeply grateful to Robert Hiscox and to its Honorary Friends for making this loan possible.