Madame X

The portrait that nearly ended Sargent's career. When first exhibited in Paris in 1884, the original showed one of the gown's straps fallen off Madame Gautreau's shoulder; the scandal was so severe Sargent left France for London. He repainted the strap, kept the painting in his studio for thirty years, and eventually sold it to the Met — calling it the best thing he had ever done.