John Singer Sargent was an American painter and muralist who worked across the U.S and Europe. Born in 1856, Sargent was at the center of Boston's artistic renaissance and the Ameican mural movement. After a childhood spent in Europe, he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and began to receive recognition for his paintings. Sargent enjoyed a large cosmopolitan social circle, especially in France and Boston, with his friends often commissioning him. He became one of the most sought-after portraitists in Europe and traveled to Italy, Egypt, Spain, Turkey, France, and around the United States to paint portraits and landscapes. He also worked as a war painter near the end of his life.

After decades of churning out portraits, Sargent turned to murals, at a time when public art was considered a high form of art. The mural commissions he received turned into massive undertakings and some of his most enduring works. Sargent produced 3 sets of murals, all of which are in the Boston area. All 3 were worked on at overlapping points over 35 years. Sargent died months before the final installation at the Museum of Fine Arts was unveiled and left the Boston Public Library's cycle incomplete. Click through the pages above to explore these works of art and learn more.