Event Details:
Date: Wednesday 30th July 2025
Time: 12:00PM
Tickets: $75

RSVP: Amelia Armistead [email protected]

A very special French-themed luncheon awaits on July 30th, from 12noon, with guest speaker member Claire Prineas, guest singer in French member Nadia Piave, accompanied by artisan French cuisine and accompanied by Champagne Philippe Brugnon Brut Cuvee Elegance Premier Cru

MADAME X The Painting that Scandalised Paris

MADAME GAUTREAU was the “It Girl” of Paris society when John Singer Sargent sought to establish himself as a famous portrait painter in the French capital in the 1880s. Like an Instagram influencer, Gautreau promoted herself and her signature look as she moved up the ranks of the social set. Captivated by her growing fame and glamour, he persuaded her to pose for him. His painting of the American-born beauty, known as Madame X, was conceived as a bold vision of a modern celebrity and Gautreau herself declared it a “masterpiece” but it horrified Parisians. The scandal threatened to destroy the reputations of both painter and sitter. Sargent’s best-known work continues to inspire a conversation about fame, fashion and female empowerment.

Claire Prineas is a Francophile with a keen interest in art and French culture. She has given lectures on Louis XIV and His Women and Life and Luxury in Paris in the 18th Century.