Nancy Astor

This 1907 charcoal portrait of Nancy Astor (1879-1964 ) by John Singer Sargent hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

Nancy Astor made history in 1919 as the first woman to take her seat in the British House of Commons, where she served as a Conservative Member. The daughter of a prosperous railroad entrepreneur from Virginia, she had moved to England after divorcing her first husband. Subsequently, she married Waldorf Astor, the son of enormously wealthy American expatriates. Despite her pioneering political role, Astor's legacy is decidedly mixed. She championed certain women's issues, such as widows’ pensions and equal employment opportunities, yet she openly expressed bigoted views on race and religion. This drawing, made when Astor was in her late twenties, marks the beginning of her playful friend-ship with Sargent, which endured until the artist's death. It captures Astor's youthful zest —face expressive and mobile, lips just parted, hair flame-like in the light. Sargent made a rare exception to his embargo on painted portraits for Astor in 1908.

John S. Sargent - 1907

This photo of Mrs. Waldorf Astor c. 1908 by the Bain News Service comes from the Library of Congress via Wikimedia.

Mrs. Waldorf Astor