Nearby Kenwood House has a special exhibition on at the moment, so we went with my visiting son and his wifeyesterday. The small exhibition is made up almost exclusively of portraits. These are all the work of John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) who died a hundred years ago this year. Apparently, between 1870 and 1914, 102 American women married into the British aristocracy. Often dubbed "dollar princesses" these women, typically heiresses from wealthy American families, exchanged their fortunes for titles and social status within the British upper class. I recognised many of the names of the featured individuals, sometimes married more than once - Astor, Chamberlain, Colgate, Curzon, Playfair, Vanderbilt, etc. These portraits - many in charcoal but some full oils - have been pulled in from all over (Boston, Dublin, Houston, Washingtn, etc) and it is a rare treat to see so many gathered together like this. The exhibition goes on to October 5. (Nice to see the Vermeer, Rembrandt, Gainsborough, etc, again).
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