yards and yards of satin from the most expensive shops

Fashioned by Sargent (Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 2023)

A few years ago, I was in a bar (that no longer exists) with two people (who continue to exist) that I was introducing to each other. One of them floated the question “if anybody could paint your portrait, who would you pick?” as an icebreaker. But then both of them, as I recall, instantly agreed that it was a pointless question to ask. Because there could be only one answer to such a question: John Singer Sargent.¹

If you have a chance to check out Fashioned by Sargent, the exhibit that’s currently at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, it’s definitely worth a look. I’m not sure that, in the end, they really are able to do that much with the exhibit’s general conceit—that is, showing the portraits alongside the clothes they depict. In one case the museum showcases three separate dresses in the wardrobe of one of the subjects, to prove she had other clothes I suppose, and asks who chose the dress in the portrait in this odd, almost conspiratorial way.