An exhaustive study of one of Sargent's best-known paintings by a senior curator at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The book also examines Sargent's career; the career of another ex-patriate American painter, Edward Darley Boit, whose daughters were the models for the portrait; the history of the Boit family; and the Parisian social and artistic milieu that served as the setting for the portrait. While the book was absorbing, it was a little too detailed, particularly when it came to the work of Boit, who was not a primary subject here. ( )

This book ended up not being what I was expecting and I think all the more interesting for that.
I expected this book to be more about John Singer Sargent himself and his work on the titled painting but instead it focused far more on the Boit family, the culture the artist was working in and how it influenced his work and vice versa and the impact and life the painting had beyond it's creation.

It's easy to forget today how radical and controversial the art created by the Impressionists was in it's day and it was fascinating to look at this from such a different perspective. ( )

Excellent -- it held my interest all the way through, What I liked most was the description -- mostly but not exclusively in the last chapter -- of the radically-changing Interpretations of the painting over time by critics and other commentators. To me, it's this kind of discussion that makes the study of art history most interesting. (I'm fairly new to it.). If anyone knows of a similar study (i.e., changing opinions of one particular painting over time), please post here. ( )

Interesting scholarly work viewing a single painting from many angles. Not rivetting, but interesting to know all sides of the story. The painter (though a bit weaker here), the patron (the father of the "daughters"), the subjects, the times, and the art community. ( )