The Breakfast Table

early 1880s

Full-length portraits of women at the Salon, year after year

Upon his return to Paris Sargent quickly receives several portrait commissions and his career is launched: in the early 1880s he regularly exhibits portraits at the Salon, mostly full-length portrayals of women such as “Madame Edouard Pailleron” (1880, done en plein air) and “Madame Ramón Subercaseaux” (1881), continuing to receive positive critical notice.

1882

The start of a long friendship with Albert de Belleroche

In 1882 Sargent meets the aristocratic artist Albert de Belleroche, with whom he later travels frequently; scholars regard him as Sargent's likely lover.

1882

Henry James urges him to move to London

As early as 1882 Sargent considers moving to London, repeatedly urged to do so by his new friend, the novelist Henry James, who had praised the artist's early work.

1884

“Madame X” at the Salon: a scandal

Sargent himself pursued Virginie Gautreau for the opportunity to paint her and worked on the portrait for well over a year; unveiled at the 1884 Salon it arouses such a negative reaction that it likely prompts his move to London, and repainting the dress strap does not undo the damage: French commissions dry up.

1885

A visit to Monet at Giverny

On a visit to Claude Monet at Giverny in 1885 Sargent paints one of his most Impressionistic portraits, “Claude Monet Painting at the Edge of a Wood”, with Monet's new bride nearby; after that visit he begins to paint outdoors in the plein-air manner and buys four Monet works for his own collection.

1886

Moving to London, to artistic Chelsea

The portrait commissions that follow his Royal Academy showings encourage Sargent to complete his move to London in 1886, where he settles in the artistic community of Chelsea. English critics are not warm at first, faulting his “Frenchified” handling of paint, but with the help of Mrs. White, and with Henry James's push, he soon gains the admiration of English patrons and critics.