Mrs. Charles Deering (Marion Denison Whipple)

In 1876 Sargent, twenty and on his first visit to America, met Charles Deering at Newport, Rhode Island, and painted him in his U.S. Navy uniform to mark the meeting. That began a friendship of some 50 years. By 1888, when he made this portrait of Deering's wife, Marion, Sargent had weathered the Paris scandal over his Madame X and settled into a busy career between London and America. He shows Marion seated, one arm over the chairback, her gaze meeting yours. Look at how differently the picture is painted: her face and her hand are brought to a fine finish, while the pale dress and its lace dissolve into quick, broad strokes. Deering would go on to become one of the great benefactors of the Art Institute of Chicago, where this portrait of his wife now hangs.