Ena and Betty, daughters of Asher and Mrs. Wertheimer

In a darkened room, two women stand nestled close together.

The woman on the left wears a deep crimson dress, a red flower tucked into her dark hair. The woman on the right is clad in a white gown, smiling tenderly.

The intimate bond of sisters. Youthful skin, and radiant, exuberant smiles. A warm, uninhibited atmosphere pervades the canvas, breaking the rigid mold of traditional portraiture. It offers a glimpse of the deep trust shared between the painter and his sitters.

In reality, however...

This exquisite portrait of sisters would later become the target of fierce hatred from British society.

"They ought to be isolated in some special 'Chamber of Horrors.'"

Such harsh words were hurled at them, even by a prominent historian.

The women depicted are the eldest daughter, Ena, and the second daughter, Betty—daughters of Asher Wertheimer, London’s premier art dealer.

In 1898, Asher commissioned John Singer Sargent to paint a portrait to commemorate his silver wedding anniversary. This marked the beginning of an extraordinary relationship, with the Wertheimer family eventually commissioning a total of twelve family portraits from him. It became the largest series of commissions from a single client in Sargent's entire career.

Sargent formed a deeply affectionate bond with the family. At their residence at 8 Connaught Place in London, he was a frequent guest, sharing countless dinners with them. Eight of his portraits hung on the walls of their dining room—a space he affectionately referred to as "the Sargent Gallery."

Ena and Betty studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, an institution at the cutting edge of art education at the time. They were highly independent, intellectual women. Ena, in particular, possessed a rich sense of humor.

In another portrait Sargent painted of her, she playfully borrowed a man’s hat and cloak from another sitter, striking a pose as if caught in a gust of wind. It speaks volumes about the candid, unpretentious friendship she shared with the artist.