Family Romance: John Singer Sargent and the Wertheimers

by Jean Strouse

Jean Strouse captures the dramas, mysteries, intrigues, and tragedies surrounding John Singer Sargent's portraits of the Wertheimer family.Jean Strouse’s Family John Singer Sargent and the Wertheimers looks at twelve portraits of one English family painted by the expatriate American artist at the height of his career—and at the intersections of all these lives with the sparkle and strife of the Edwardian age.In commissioning this grand series of paintings, Asher Wertheimer, an eminent London art dealer of German-Jewish descent, became Sargent’s greatest private patron and close friend. The Wertheimers worked with Rothschilds and royals, plutocrats and dukes—as did Sargent. Asher left most of his Sargent portraits to the National Gallery in London, a gift that elicited censure as well as it was a new thing for a family of Jews to appear alongside the AngloSaxon aristocrats and dignitaries painted by earlier masters.Strouse’s account, set primarily in England around the turn of the twentieth century, takes in the declining fortunes of the British aristocracy and the dramatic rise of new power and wealth on both sides of the Atlantic. It travels back through hundreds of years to the Habsburg court in Vienna and forward to fascist Italy in the 1930s. Its depictions of Sargent, his sitters, their friendships and circles, and the portraits themselves light up a period that saw tumultuous social change and the birth of the modern art market.Sargent brilliantly portrayed these transformations, in which the Wertheimers were key players. Family Romance brings their interwoven stories fully to life for the first time.

Genres: History, Art, Biography, Nonfiction, Art History, 19th Century, Audiobook

336 pages, Hardcover

Published November 19, 2024

About the author

Jean Strouse (born 1945) is an American biographer, cultural administrator, and critic. She is best known for her biographies of diarist Alice James and financier J. Pierpont Morgan.

Strouse was an editorial assistant at The New York Review of Books from 1967 to 1969. She was a book critic at Newsweek magazine from 1979 to 1983, and won a MacArthur Fellowship in September, 2001. She has also held fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She has contributed reviews and essays on literary and other topics to the New York Times Book Review, The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, and Vogue. In 2003 Strouse was appointed the Sue Ann and John Weinberg Director of the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[jrendocrine at least reading is good · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun read - John Singer Sargent has definitely been a phoenix rising this century: he had been one of the most admired painters in England through the early 1900s but his work fell into disregard after WWII. Now we love him!

This book tells a specific story of his family portraits of a wealthy Jewish family in London, the Wertheimers who loved him, and he them. The Wertheimers seem to have disappeared from the world after downturns post WWs- probably somewhat owing to the two eldest sons dying early, and the two younger sons changing their names, presumably to be less obvious in the reliably anti-semitic UK scene (my opinion, disagree with me if you like). The daughters married out. Everyone died young back then - cholera, typhoid, cancer, suicide.

Jean Strouse touches lightly on Sargent, the Werthheimer history, the London scene and the times but links it all together quite expertly in discussions of Sargent's work. The Wertheimer paintings appear as nice reproductions in the text, along with a few Sassoons and a beloved one of Henry James. One of the greatest benefits of the book is to have the internet handy and search all of the many (many!) other Sargent paintings Strouse refers too - along with some Velasquez and Vermeer - they are truly gorgeous. [Go ahead, search "Group with Parasols - Siesta"; you won't be sorry!)

Sargent knew everyone - Henry James, Siegfried Sassoon's father, various Rothschilds, Freud, the Bloomsbury crew (Roger Fry did not like Sargent's paintings apparently). This is not the book to figure deeply about his background and psyche though he appears to have been a very sweet, humble and interesting man. With LOTS of friends.

Knowing these paintings exist in the Tate and the National Portrait Gallery gives me reason to plan a visit to the UK (maybe see some Vanessa Bell too). If Americans aren't welcome after these next 4 years, I suppose I can go see Sargent's murals in the Boston Public library.

Nice book, feast for the eyes.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could hardly believe my luck when a forthcoming book by Jean Strouse turned up in NetGalley to request. I didn't even look at what it was about until later, because I knew it would be worth reading. In 1985 I read Strouse's subtle and intelligent biography of Alice James, and really haven't run across her much since. Clearly, for much of that time she has been researching John Singer Sargent and the members of the Wertheimer family that he painted.

This book weaves a large and complex tapestry of the lives and worlds of wealthy Jewish families who established themselves in England in the 19th century. I know almost nothing about the world of art dealers, but the Wertheimer family made their fortune in the field, and it could be cutthroat. Sargent specialized for years in doing portraiture, which the family could afford, and he became quite close to many of the family members. Before he finally gave up portrait painting (his greatest genius) he painted not only all the Wertheimers but also many of the other wealthy Jewish people in their greater circle.

Following each member of the family through their lives, the book becomes almost a group biography. So many of them died quite young. Only one returned to continental Europe and died while interned, in fascist Italy. While the English Wertheimers did not suffer the catastrophe visited upon Jewish people (wealthy and otherwise) on the continent in the twentieth century, there was plenty of casual antisemitism in their world, even from the so-called progressives of the Bloomsbury set. And the disputed and varying place of Sargent's work in the world of British art is laid out, often with reference to the inexplicable hostility of the critic Roger Fry.

A helpful appendix at the back provides a list of all of the Jewish people portrayed in the work of Sargent, as well as a list of the current museum location of all his portraits of the Wertheimer family.

Worth reading for its intelligent look at both an artist and one of the specific worlds he portrayed.

[Matt Carton · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️-1/2. Strouse packs in a lot in these 250 or so pages: the European Jewish diaspora, a history of the art world from 1880-1925, John Singer Sargent, and the fascinating Wertheimer family. I’m a huge fan of JSS as it is. I was thoroughly intrigued with his relationship to the Wertheimers. Makes we want to go to the Tate and see all of these paintings.

[Annabel Holland · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Interesting combination of historical and art history text

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened/watched the author speak at the New York Public Library. The book has been reviewed by the New Yorker, December 21, 2024, "Now You See Me: John Singer Sargent's strange, slippery portraits of an art dealer's family."

I've seen many of Sargent's portraits, watercolors, etc. In December 2023 at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, I saw three Wertheimer portraits: Ena and Betty, Almina, and A Vele Gonfie. At the time, the Wertheimer name did not mean anything to me. So, reading this book was enlightening to learn about the Wertheimer family and the connection of Sargent and Jewish families. Earlier in 2023, I visited the Jewish Museum in NYC for the exhibition on the Sassoons. At the exhibition, there were Sargent portraits of Sybil Sassoon and also other paintings from the Philip Sassoon Collection. And in April 2025, the MET will exhibit, "Sargent and Paris" - obviously I will attend/view!

There is a wikipedia article on the Wertheimer portraits and the biographical dates of the family. Asher and his wife Flora had 12 children. According to the book, "He installed most of the paintings in the dining room of his town house on London's Connaught Place, where the artist was such a frequent guest that the room came to be known as "Sargent's Mess." Most of the paintings are housed at the Tate Gallery in London. An exception, the first portrait of Flora is housed at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

A snippet of the wikipedia article:

Asher Wertheimer married in 1873. His wife Flora (1846–1922) was the daughter of another London art dealer. Of their twelve children, four sons and eight daughters, two daughters died in infancy. The other ten children survived into adulthood, but the two eldest sons both died before their 30th birthdays:

1) a daughter, Sarah (1872–1873), who died in infancy

2) eldest son Edward (1873–1902), musician, intended to take over the business, died after eating a bad oyster on his honeymoon

3) eldest surviving daughter Helena (Ena) (1874–1935), married Robert Moritz Mathias (1874–1961) in 1905

4) second son Alfred (1876–1902), studied to be a chemist, died in the Boer War

5) second surviving daughter Elizabeth (Betty) (1877–1953), married Euston Salaman (1871–1916) and then Major Dr Arthur Ricketts

6) third surviving daughter Hylda (1878–1938), married Henry Wilson-Young (d. 1940)

7) fourth surviving daughter Essie (1880–1932?), married Eustace Wilding (1873–1939) in 1905

8) third son Conway (1881–1953), later Conway Joseph Conway, barrister

9) a daughter, Lizzie (1884–1886), who died in infancy

10) fifth surviving daughter Almina (1886–1928), married Antonio Pandelli Fachiri (1886–1928/9) in 1915

11) fourth son Ferdinand (Bob) (1888–1950), later Bob Conway, artist and writer

12) sixth surviving daughter Ruby (1889–1941), died at the San Severino Marche internment camp in Italy

[Alison Fulmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a densely written book but worth reading if you have an interest in the work of John Singer Sargent. Uses the story of his relationship with and paintings of the members of a wealthy Jewish family in Britain to explore a variety of topics including antisemitism in the late 19th century

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strouse uses Sargent's Wertheimers portraits as a jump off point to discuss different aspects of Edwardian England, Europe, and United States. Nominally a family biography, Strouse also considers other prominant Jewish families like the Rothschild and the consequences of their entrance into the world of the rich and titled. Sargent's career as a portraitist is the main focus on the art side, as we examine critical response with Strouse providing her own.

This is not a straight forward biography, and it took a bit for me to get into because each chapter seemed to be about a disparate subject. Once I got farther in and the threads started connecting it got easier to read and more interesting. Maybe not the best start to a study of Sargent, but a good look at the culture of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

[Marks54 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a “biography” of sorts by Jean Strouse, who is a fine biographer - see for example her life of J.P. Morgan. This book, however, is a story of a relationship between an artist - John Singer Sargent - an a family. Sargent painted the family of Asher Wertheimer, his wife, and their children (some multiple times). This is the only example of such a focus by Sargent, who was the portrait painter of choice among British and American elites as the 19th century led into the twentieth. All, or most, of the paintings are superb. Asher was a well known art dealer and his family was a Jewish family that had found success in Britain as the old landed elites had to adjust to the arrival of new elites and new money by the nouveau riche of the US and Europe. This required art dealers to foster and market for old art in response to new money. The Wertheimer family, among others fit right into this, and Sargent was the artist/portraitist of choice of changing times.

The book is especially informative on the emergence of the art business in Britain and America at the time. I am not sure how much as changed since then. Spoiler alert - while one might thoroughly enjoy Sargent’s art, the processes by which art came to be bought, sold, and otherwise circulated among the elites of the time will seem a good deal messier than the actual art itself.

The book is exquisitely written and insightful. …and there are illustrations galore, especially of all of the John Singer Sargent paintings. I strongly recommend the book.

[Lisa Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Good Reads - I won this book in a recent giveaway. I really enjoyed this book, fascinating!

[Rosalind Reisner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The centerpiece of this book is the set of exquisite portraits painted by John Singer Sargent, commissioned by the Wertheimer family in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Wertheimers were wealthy Jewish art dealers and Sargent was the portrait painter in demand by the British upper classes. Lots of stories about intrigue among the art dealers; the financial problems that led wealthy Brits to sell their art; and the anti-Semitism that dogged the Wertheimer family and tainted Sargent for painting them.

[Irwin Weiss, MD · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book and story about the interactions of the famous American painter John Singer Sargent and the family of Flora and Asher Wertheimer. We learn that although Sargent is considered an American painter, he spent almost his entire life in Europe. The Wertheimer’s were a rich Anglo- Jewish family who made their money by among things as art dealers. They had 10 children with most surviving to adulthood. The essence of the book is that the Wertheimer’s hired Sargent to paint their portraits in the 1890’s. The controversy basically revolved around their exhibit at the Tate Gallery in London.

We learn a bit about Sargent and the family he painted. Included in the book are reproductions of most of the Wertheimer paintings. We also learn a little of the situation for the upper crust of Anglo-Jewry during this period.

What makes this book a little difficult to follow is the many references to other works by Sargent without accompanying pictures. Also, narrative is a bit confusing for the non art expert, alternating between the reaction to the works and the story of the family.

We learn that this family has faded from history, probably because of their loss of Jewish identity through intermarriage but that Sargent has gotten a new look as a talented artist.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected Family Romance by Jean Strouse to be about the relationship between the portrait artist, John Singer Sargent, and the Wertheimer family, of whom he painted a total of twelve portraits. Even though Strouse did allude to some interactions between Sargent and Asher Wertheimer and a couple of the Wertheimer children, there were two separate storylines—one about Sargent and the other about the Wertheimers and other families in their circle.

I did learn a great deal from Family Romance about Sargent, whom I admire greatly, especially after seeing the Sargent in Paris exhibition at The Met in New York recently. Mainly I learned that my views about Sargent weren’t entirely accurate—I believed he was sought after as a portrait artist due to his skill at portraying his subjects in the most flattering likeness. This tendency, I believed, was much of his appeal. According to Strouse, however, this was not always the case. There were many patrons who were dismayed, if not horrified, at Sargent’s depictions. Strouse includes a lengthy list of Sargent’s patrons who were very unhappy with his work, including a friend of Sargent’s, Henry Irving, who destroyed his portrait with a knife. (pp. 80-81). Another was the high-profile American collector, Isabella Gardner. She commissioned Sargent to paint her portrait and was not pleased with the results. She apparently hung hers in a private room (though this may be more due to the negative public response).

The book was good but oftentimes jumped around between time frames, which made it difficult to follow. There were also many, many names mentioned in later chapters that focused on the Wertheimer family and their circle of acquaintances, which didn’t add much to the story. Overall, however, it's an insightful book for fans of John Singer Sargent.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book that explores the professional life of John Singer Sargent and his long association with the Anglo-Jewish Wertheimer family. Sargent painted portraits of many of the family's members, and these portraits reside in museums such as the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Boston Museum of Fine Art, and many others.

The Wertheimers were a wealthy family with roots in Germany. They reached their height of influence in England in the late Victorian age with Asher, a renowned art dealer, who became a friend of Sargent's. The Wertheimers moved in an exclusive circle of other wealthy Jewish families, with whom they often intermarried. Asher and his wife Flora had 10 children. Sargent painted both of them as well as the children at different times. The two oldest daughters, Ena and Betty, were painted in the double portrait that appears on the cover of this book.

The commentary on art dealing and bequests to museums of Sargent's (and other leading artists of the period) work would appeal to anyone with an interest in art history, the politics of the late Victorian and Edwardian ages, the role of British Jews in commerce and other pursuits, and how they were seen through the ever-present anti-Semitism at the highest levels of British society.

[Roxana Schoen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly a fascinating subject (or subjects, really - lots of interesting threads of people moving thru this book). Well researched, deeply rooted in the time these people lived, with all the thought-influence going on that was inherited from previous generations and newly generated with the younger folks.

But ... we never actually read about anything related to the title, "Family Romance". I'm not even sure where that title came from. We barely learn anything about Sargent's and the Wertheimer's actual interactions as friends, client/customer, any relationship at all. I can read into a lot of what is here and guess at what some of that might have been - but that's hardly the experience that reading about a topic is supposed to be.

In hindsight, this book feels a lot closer to a draft, that never quite got the author's full attention at the end and never got a good editor's push-back that it's not ready for publishing, because the core promise of the title is barely brush-stroked in - it's still awaiting its many colors of rich oil paint. (Yeah, sorry, it seemed like the right analogy.)

[R.J. Gilmour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strouse's book looks at a series of portraits painted by John Singer Sargent for one powerful family in England, the Wertheimer's. Not only is the book a history of the portraits it places the relationship between Sargent and the paterfamilias, Asher Wertheimer at the centre of the book. Strouse manages to provide background for the Wertheimer's, Sargent and all involved.

...historian W.E.B. DuBois in The Souls of Black Folk (1903). The experience of being regarded as 'other' by a dominant culture, wrote Du Bois, 'is a peculiar sensation...this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity.' 10

He once wrote to Vernon Lee, "O for Henry James' faculty of saying something so cautiously that you only know what he meant the next day.' 84

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Singer Sargent was the preeminent portrait artist of his era: late 1800s/early 1900s. Jean Strouse has provided a thoroughly researched book about him and his patronage by the Wertheimer family, who were important art dealers in that same time period. Sargent's mastery was in showing who people were, both inside and outside. Strouse also discusses important social and economic themes, such as anti-Semitism (where museums were not interested in exhibiting Jews) and the decline of the British aristocracy and the rise of modern businessmen (including the transfer of their art and collectibles.) I found the book's organization to be unorthodox, even confusing at times, but liked the color plates.

[Marijean Miyar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A GOOD book! History, Art History, personalities galore, their interactions, etc. etc.
Why do I hate the title so much and why do I think it was a thoroughly misguided choice? By the editors? Certainly the author has done her due diligence. The book is deeply researched, even the tangential subjects (there are plenty of those...) get thorough treatment. It wasn't my choice to read it, the title kept me away, but my book club chose it. I started it grudgingly and by the end i was deeply invested. The last few pages on J S Sargent's waning and rising reputation could have been expanded but it covered the subject thoughtfully. Indeed, the book tackles so many different areas so well that it should have had a better title!

[Megon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fairly interesting book about an artist and pretty much everyone related to him in any way. There is a lot of information in it, but I don't feel like it was sorted in the best way. It was difficult to figure out who was who and it jumped around a lot, particularly at the beginning. And there was a lot of repetition throughout the book. And this has nothing to do with the author, but this is 2024.....I don't see any reason why we can't have full page, full color pictures of the art, placed where they are relevant to the story. How can we talk about the art without seeing the art? Whoever actually made the book didn't do it justice.

[Julia Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The relationship between artist John Singer Sargent and the members of the Wertheimer family in London is fascinating to read about. The Wertheimers were a family of Jewish immigrants who came from Bavaria during the early 1800's. They were collectors and art dealers. Sargent painted portraits of the entire family and Asher Wertheimer introduced Sargent to many other prospective clients.
The book explores how the relationship flourished and how Sargent became one of the most famous painters of his day.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A group portrait of artist John Singer Sargent and the family of art dealer Asher Wertheimer. It provides a detailed history of social and artistic transformations at the turn of the century by tracing the fortunes of each member of the sprawling Wertheimer clan. Besides exploring his friendship with the Wertheimers, the work also discusses Sargent's relationships with artists such as Monet and Rodin, his generosity to younger artists, and the arc of his posthumous reputation.

[Mary Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

We saw these portraits at the Tate on May 7, 2022, with the granddaughter of Sena Werthheimer as our guide. So it was a treat receive this book as a Christmas gift from Bernie. The books traces not only this remarkable series of 12 portraits, but a history of Jewish art dealers in Britain, a history of the artist, John Singer Sargeant and a history of many of Sargeant’s other paintings.
Fascinating.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written and accessible book that explores the relationship, part patronage part deep friendship, between artist John Singer Sargent and the Wertheimers, a wealthy Jewish family in the opulent world of art dealing. This was such a readable book throughout but I felt the intellectual payoff really came at the end, as the author deftly framed both artist and patron as part of a transformation of modernity in British society, art, and economy in the early 20th century.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book about John Singer Sargent an American expat living in England who became a famous portraitist of the Wertheimer family among other aristocrats. The Wertheimers were German Jewish art dealers who immigrated to England. They were wealthy, Jewish, and promoted the arts. The decline of the English Aristocracy due to industrialization resulted
in the sale of their art and the start of museums where the art could be appreciated by the masses.

[A.R. Vishny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, it covered so many of my favorite subjects in an engaging way. Strouse does an elegant job of bringing Sargent, the Wertheimer family, and their wider social circle to life in the greater context of British wealth and antisemitism in the Edwardian era.

[Carly Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book about the relationship between a wealthy Jewish family in England and the painter John Singer Sargent (who painted all the members of the family at various times). Good look at life in Edwardian England. Quick read.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the die-hard John Singer Sargent fan, and even then, a bit more than I needed to know about the Wertheimer family history. Fascinating, though, how Sargent was dissed in his own time for being a commercial sellout.

[Stuart Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the career of American painter John Singer Sargent and his portraits of the Wertheimer family. For anyone with an interest in late 19th and early 20th century collecting in England.

[Garine M · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love art history and this was tough to get through. The first and last 40 pages were stellar, just the tidbits I wanted to learn about the painter. The rest was dry societal connections and doings.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating look at Sargent and his relationship with the Wertheimer family. It is also a good examination of the art world in the early 20th century since Asher Wertheimer was an art dealer.

[Pam]

Loved it. Just the kind of book I like - art, interesting people. Nonfiction sort of biography of John Singer Sargent and his relationship with the Wertheimer family, wealthy art dealers in late 19th/early 20th century England.