WHISTLER'S MOTHER- JAMES McNEIL WHSTLER:

Whistler's Mother is a famous oil painting by James McNeil Whistler and it was completed in 1871. The palette choice for this painting was grey and black. The woman in the painting is the mother of the artist. .

The subject of the painting is Whistler's mother,?Anna McNeill Whistler. The painting is 56.81 by 63.94 inches (1,443?mm ?1,624?mm),displayed in a frame of Whistler's own design. It is held by the Musee d'Orsay?in?Paris,?having been bought by the French state in 1891. It is one of the most famous works by an American artist outside the United States. It has been variously described as an American icon ?and a Victorian?Mona Lisa.

Several unverifiable stories relate to the painting of the work; one is that Anna Whistler acted as a replacement for another model who could not make the appointment. Allegedly, Whistler originally envisioned painting the model standing up. However, his mother was too uncomfortable to pose standing for an extended period.

The work was shown at the 104th?Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Art?in London (1872), after coming within a hair's breadth of rejection by the Academy. This episode worsened the rift between Whistler and the British art world;?Arrangement?was the last painting he submitted for the Academy's approval (although his etching of Old Putney Bridge was exhibited there in 1879). Vol. VIII of?The Royal Academy of Arts: A Complete Dictionary of Contributors and their work from its foundation in 1769 to 1904?(by Algernon Graves, F.S.A., London 1906) lists the 1872 exhibit as no. 941, "Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's mother", and gives Whistler's address as The White House, Chelsea Embankment.

Whistlers-Mother