About John Singer Sargent: The American Artist, John Singer Sargent was born in Florence, Italy to American parents. John Sargent studied in Italy and Germany, and then in Paris under Emile Auguste Carolus-Duran. Posthumous sales of John Singer Sargent Paintings:Portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson and his Wife sold in 2004 for $8.8 million to Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn to be installed at his newest casino, Wynn Las Vegas. In December 2004, Group with Parasols (A Siesta) (1905) sold for $US 23.5 million, nearly double the Sotheby's estimate of $12 million. The previous highest price for a John Singer Sargent painting was $US 11 million.