This is a wonderful biography, well-researched, comprehensive, authoritative, and written accessibly and entertainingly, all anyone could want from a cradle-to-grave biography. But….the author seems to be obsessed by seeing every aspect of Sargent’s life through the lens of his probable homosexuality. It’s obviously paramount to the author that he demonstrate this but it’s surely not the most important aspect of the life and work. Intriguing at first, the emphasis soon becomes irritating. Who cares? Does it actually make Sargent a better or worse artist? And that’s what ultimately matters. I wish the editor had reined the author in a bit. Otherwise this would have been a very fine biography indeed. And certainly I (mostly) enjoyed it. And if Sargent chose to be discreet about his private life, then perhaps we should be too.

When I saw this book offered, I decided to request it because I knew Sargent was one of the most important artists in our country's history. I was most curious to find out more about his portraits of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson based upon my interest in presidential history. I am not an art historian, nor do I study art as a hobby. I enjoy looking at books of masterpieces of art but have not seen any in person.

This book was interesting learning about John Singer Sargent's upbringing in Europe. Once he sets out on his own and truly begins his work as an artist, the book became a study of the art scene in Europe in the late 1800's in minutiae. Every major and minor sketch of Sargent's was described in detail. I was happy to see some of the many sketches and portraits described. When I finally got to the section on the Presidential portraits, it was only a few pages long and did not go into great depth.

And what's up with constantly questioning if Sargent was homosexual or not? Who cares? It doesn't make his work any more or less better. So what if he was? So what if he wasn't? He was an excellent artist. Period.

A satisfying and sensitive portrait of the relationships that contributed to the development of artist John Singer Sargent.
Sargent, the son of a doctor, was raised during the Victorian era in a household dominated by his unconventional mother Mary. She, the financial pillar, afforded her son every opportunity that a ‘artist to be’ could want with Sargent showing promise at a very young age.
He had relationships with artists, wealthy, high class individuals who often commissioned his work and was neighbors with the colorful Oscar Wilde. Speculation of Sargent sexuality grew in the later part of his life. His portraits and sketches of the male nude hinted at his hidden desires. Sargent had a lengthy relationship with artist Albert de Belleroche whose portrait adorned the wall of his Chelsea home.
For anyone who enjoys his work, this is a well balanced and informative read. Like the layering of paint on his canvas, Fisher reveals John Singer Sargent in an intimate and enlightening way.
With thanks to NetGalley, the author and Farrar Strauss and Giroux for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.

This is a feast of a book for art lovers in general and John Singer Sargent fans in particular. It may be too detailed for some, and I found the ongoing questioning of Sargent's sexuality a waste of time (who cares? and if he needed any reminders of the dire consequences of being "out", he only needed to look across the street at his neighbor Oscar Wilde). The coverage of Sargent's childhood is important to understanding the man. His father was a doctor and wanted to stay in the US, but Mrs. Sargent was the financial mainstay of the family and she much preferred Europe and anyplace that was rich in art and artists. John barely went to conventional schools but, thanks to his mother, he was provided with every advantage a gifted young artist could hope for. And he was very young when his gift made itself known.
The book proceeds through Sargent's lifetime, giving the history of every significant work of art he produced. His relationships were colorful, evenly distributed among fellow painters and people of high social standing (who provided much of Sargent's living by commissioning portraits). I especially enjoyed the information throughout describing how he developed his very recognizable style, conveying a string of pearls with a few dabs of paint and the personalities of his subjects with careful posing. Not to mention, he staged (and sometimes created) the backgrounds in his portraits to further convey the interests and lifestyles of his sitters.
I very much liked the man portrayed in this biography and appreciated the author's ability to organize large amounts of information in highly readable ways.

Author Paul Fisher has written an exhilarating and slightly exhausting modern biography of renowned painter John Singer Sargent. I say modern only to mean that Fisher looks at Sargent’s glorious and momentous body of work through the lens of Sargent’s probable sexuality. In the last few decades highly erotic drawings by Sargent of the male body has added to the speculation that Sargent was homosexual, though there isn’t a lot of concrete evidence. The male model drawings however are a window into the obvious desires and predilections of this renowned painter. This book is a must read for the millions of fans of John Singer Sargent’s thrilling work. I found this book to be a page turner. Bravo Paul Fisher. Thank you NetGalley.

Though John Singer Sargent’s Edwardian era paintings — especially Madame X — are legendary, his personal life is little known. This book aims to rectify that and does so with rigor. With varying intimacy, Paul Fisher has written on the major events and periods in Singer Sargent’s life.

An international citizen or a rambling man, Singer Sargent often travelled with his friends throughout Europe. This lifestyle may intimate something of a travelogue or a road movie, but having taken the task of providing a broad overview of Sargent’s life, such scenes of adventure or camaraderie are limited.

But one fine scene of wanderlust takes place in the prologue. Sargent and his friend travel by train and during a lull, his friend sketches a rare image of Sargent in repose. A quiet moment before the two continue their grand adventure and one that describes the pairs bond and their lifestyles. Yet, the prologue is not the portent of things to come as it may seem. The book is less transportive than it is informative.

It is a issue that many historical biographies face and one that can be escaped through uses of epistolary methods or generous regaling of physical realities of the time; sights, sounds, locations and general atmosphere. The Grand Affair forgoes these and opts to detail its retellings with rich, historical prose but the interests of the writing are generally abstract pieces of information — “The Comstock Laws of 1873 strictly and exhaustively prohibited the circulation, as the statute reads…” — and leave the reader watching the page rather than watching the Edwardian world of the book. Yet the book is not unworthy, one comes from having read the book feeling a great understanding of Sargent and his world — the very promise of the books title — and so it should be applauded for that.

As surely as it is a book for those infatuated with his work, it can be sure that the detail and minutiae would be overwhelming or at least grating for the casual reader. A warning and a veneration in one.

Paul Fisher brilliantly plumbs the ambiguities of the life of John Singer Sargent in an impeccably researched and intimately woven portrait of not only an artist, but of a period of artistic and human history which is as multi-textured and shaded as the artist's work itself. Highly recommended.

My thanks to FSG and to Netgalley for the opportunity and pleasure of an early read.

I read this ARC for an honest Review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I absolutely love JSS work but knew very little about him personally
A fantastic and illuminating read