Sargent was born to wealthy parents, and he moved all his life among the socially fashionable.  He studied with Carolus-Duran in Paris (1874-1876).
He developed the gift of instantaneous vision and immediate recording as a portraitist.  He devoted his later years to impressionistic water colors.

Paul Helleau Painting and His Wife
John Singer Sargent, 1856-1925, American
Brooklyn Museum, New York
