Family Romance: John Singer Sargent and the Wertheimers

Family Romance: John Singer Sargent and the Wertheimers examines the extraordinary relationship between John Singer Sargent, one of the most celebrated portrait painters of his era, and the Wertheimer family, a wealthy Anglo-Jewish dynasty whose patronage shaped much of his work at the turn of the twentieth century. 

Jean Strouse traces twelve portraits that Sargent painted of the Wertheimers between 1898 and 1908, weaving a narrative that encompasses art, identity, society, and history. Asher Wertheimer, an influential London art dealer, became not only Sargent’s closest patron but also a friend, challenging established norms of class, culture, and acceptance in Edwardian society. Strouse’s account situates these portraits within broader shifts in the art market and social hierarchy, illuminating how art and life intersected in an age of transformation.

“An artist’s colorful world… a richly detailed history of social and artistic transformations.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Family Romance shines when portraying the groundswells altering high society.” — Apollo Magazine

“A riveting book about an amazing vanished world, a remarkable family and a great and mysterious artist…” — Hermione Lee