“Opening at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on April 27, 2025, Sargent and Paris will explore the early career of John Singer Sargent (born 1856, Florence; died 1925, London), from his arrival in Paris in 1874 as a talented 18-year-old art student through the mid-1880s, when his infamous portrait Madame X (1883–84), now part of The Met collection, was a scandalous success at the Paris Salon. Featuring paintings, watercolors, and drawings, the exhibition will also include select portraits by Sargent’s contemporaries. The exhibition is the largest international exhibition of Sargent’s work since 1998 and the first ever monographic exhibition of Sargent’s art in France.”
— The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

“This magnificent exhibition will shed new light on a transformative period in the life and career of one of America’s most important painters,” said Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and Chief Executive Officer. “By situating Sargent’s work within the context of the city that formed and inspired him, Sargent and Paris will illuminate this influential artist’s meteoric rise, providing new insights into his unique talent and skill in capturing the vibrant society he inhabited.”

Installation views of Sargent and Paris, on view April 27–August 3, 2025 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photos by Hyla Skopitz, courtesy of The Met. 

Stephanie L. Herdrich, Alice Pratt Brown Curator of American Painting and Drawing at The Met, said: “Sargent’s career was indelibly shaped by the time he spent in Paris. Over the course of one remarkable decade, he created the boldest and most daring paintings of his oeuvre. Sargent and Paris will showcase these visually stunning and ambitious works, shedding new light on his distinctive artistic vision. We are thrilled to partner with the Musée d’Orsay to reunite this collection of great works in New York and Paris.”

Sargent and Paris is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Musée d’Orsay, Paris. 

Sargent and Paris is curated by Stephanie L. Herdrich, Alice Pratt Brown Curator of American Painting and Drawing, at The Met; and Caroline Corbeau-Parsons, Curator of Drawings and Paintings, and Paul Perrin, Head of Curatorial and Director of Collections, at the Musée d’Orsay. They were helped by Caroline Elenowitz-Hess, Research Assistant at The Met.

Title image: John Singer Sargent, American, Florence 1856–1925 London. Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau), 1883–84. Oil on canvas, 82 1/8 x 43 1/4in. (208.6 x 109.9cm). Framed: 95 3/4 x 56 5/8 x 5 in. (243.2 x 143.8 x 12.7 cm). Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, 1916. 16.53. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.