John Singer Sargent; Portrait of Elizabeth Nelson Fairchild; 1887; oil on canvas; 19 9/16 in. x 18 1/4 in. (49.69 cm x 46.36 cm); One of the most prodigious talents of his generation; expatriate John Singer Sargent received his artistic training in Paris in the private studio of Carolus-Duran. Carolus-Duran's teaching method differed from that of academicians associated with the 蒫ole des Beaux-Arts insofar as he encouraged painting directly from the model; without preliminary studies. This approach suited Sargent perfectly; and he soon won fame; fortune; and some notoriety for portraits of international high society. This bust-length image; painted in Boston during Sargent's first working tour of America; manifests his distinctive synthesis of delicacy and boldness. The subject is Elizabeth Nelson Fairchild; a Boston poet who wrote under the pseudonym C.A. Price. Although Sargent; like William Merritt Chase; was sometimes accused of shallowness; he consistently imbued his sitters with 'high-bred refinement and interesting personalities.'