In a time that celebrates physical perfection and money over so much else, this book is a lesson in elegance, grace and style. It draws together for the first time in a single volume a sumptuous gallery of portraits dating from the early 19th century to the Second World War. Some are well-known, others unfamiliar, but all capture the spirit of their age, throwing the society that produced them into sharp and vivid relief. The Society Portrait offers entertaining anecdotes and intriguing insights into the personalities of both the artists and their patrons, providing a panorama of the settings in which the portraits were created, from French chateaux and English country houses to American mansions and Russian palaces.