  About the Artwork
  
  
  Sargent attained international prominence as a fashionable society portraitist. In both formal and informal scenes Sargent captured his wealthy clients' physical and psychological natures, the gentility and sumptuousness of the era, and the impression of a fleeting moment.
            
In this portrait, the disposition of the elongated figure is natural and straightforward, seen in three-quarter view, with her head turned inquisitively, as though she might have walked immediately into this position and looked at Sargent. The personality of Madame Poirson is suggested by the aloofness of her gaze and the icy blue color of the background.
            
In 1883 John Singer Sargent rented a studio owned by Paul Poirson. According to family history, this portrait of Poirson’s wife was executed in lieu of rent payment. Sargent’s friendly relationship with the Poirsons made this work more personal than the business action might suggest.
  
  
  Title
  Madame Paul Poirson
  
  
  Artwork Date
  1885
  
  Artist
  John Singer Sargent
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  1856-1925
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  American
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Oil on canvas
  
  
  Dimensions
  Unframed: 60 × 34 inches (152.4 × 86.4 cm)
  Framed: 78 × 52 × 4 1/4 inches (198.1 × 132.1 × 10.8 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Paintings
  
  
  Department
  American Art before 1950
  
  
  Credit
  Founders Society Purchase with funds from Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Manoogian, the Beatrice Rogers Fund, Gibbs-Williams Fund and Ralph Harman Booth Bequest Fund
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  73.41
  
  
  Copyright
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