Where Is Madame X?

John Singer Sargent’s Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau) is an icon of the Met’s collection. Each year, visitors flock to The American Wing to muse on the eccentric glamour of this bold portrait featuring the American wife of a French banker. Ordinarily we think Madame X looks quite splendid in gallery 771, where she is seen with other grand-manner portraits of the period. Surrounded by Sargent’s portraits of the Wyndham sisters and Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes, Gautreau appears quite distinct from the elegant high-society portraits.