Henry James
- Artist: John Singer Sargent
- Date: 1913
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 33 1/2 in. x 26 1/2 in. (851 mm x 673 mm)
- Portrays: Henry James
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
In this oil on canvas, John Singer Sargent has captured the novelist Henry James in full portrait. Look at the sitter’s head‑to‑shoulders view: he sits straight, his gaze steady, dressed in a fine suit that hints at the London wardrobe of the era. Sargent mixed paint with careful layering, giving the skin a subtle depth that feels almost photographic.
The painting was finished for James’s 70th birthday and later shown at the Royal Academy in May 1914. There Mary Wood, a suffragette, made three slashes near his right eye—an act still visible on the restored canvas. The scratches add an unexpected layer of history to this living likeness.
See it in person
Henry James is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
