And it is in some of his late works where one senses Sargent painting most purely for himself.

And so now, hanging in the small, simply furnished lobby of his building are four portraits, done with the deep richness of the Sargent paintings but executed in acrylic rather than oil.

When figuring out whom to paint, Mr. Pracilio thought about which people in the building most suited the Sargent paintings he wanted to use.

The previous highest price for a Sargent painting was $US 11 million.

Her two daughters, in little silk dresses, looked like children in a Sargent painting.

To reward the Clark's generosity, the three host institutions agreed to lend several Sargent paintings for an exhibition there next year.

In the late 1960's, Mr. Mount was accused in a London newspaper of a scheme to sell fake Sargent paintings.

"Living with the Sargent painting after the subject died," Mr. Weber said, "the family was repulsed by it and destroyed it around 1920."

The Sargent painting has a lovely crispness to it and is celebratory in his straightforward frankness.

As for period glamour, the doyennes of this society may wear the same accouterments as the great ladies in Sargent paintings, but they exude little of their magnetism and mystery.