J.H. Whittemore Company

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A woman stands with her back to us wearing a silver and black gown as she turns to look to our right in profile in this vertical portrait painting. We look slightly down onto the woman, and her features are painted with blended brushstrokes, making some details indistinct. She has pale, peachy skin, a straight nose, a strong chin, and her pink lips are closed. Black bangs brush the temple we can see, and her hair is pulled up into a bun high on the back of her head. Her black bodice has elbow-length, ruffled silver sleeves, which seem to be overlaid with translucent black material gathered in tiers. More gauzy black material covers her upper back to a high, black collar. A pearl-white bow at her lower back is nearly the width of her waist. The silver fabric of her long skirt drapes to and on the floor in a short train in deep folds. The woman’s right arm hangs by her side, and she holds what might be a piece of black fabric. A baseboard angles in a shallow diagonal down to our right across her hips. The wall above is smoky mauve-purple and below is charcoal gray. The shape of a butterfly within a darker oval is on the wall just to our right of the woman’s wrist.
James McNeill Whistler, Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian, 1888(?)-1900, oil on canvas, Harris Whittemore Collection, 1943.6.1

Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian

James McNeill Whistler · 1888(?)-1900 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1943.6.1

A young woman with pale, peachy skin, wearing a long, flowing white dress, stands in front of a white curtain in this vertical portrait painting. Her auburn-red hair cascades down over and behind her shoulders. She looks to our left with green eyes, and her pink, full lips are closed. Her dress has puffed shoulders above a white-on-white striped pattern on the long sleeves. She stands on an animal pelt; it is not clear whether it is a wolf or a bear. The pelt spans the width of the painting and overlaps a blue patterned carpet. The animal’s mouth gapes to show sharp teeth. Its glassy eyes are wide open, and it seems to look at us. The edges of the animal skin are red. The woman holds a white lily by her side in her left hand, while yellow and purple flowers lie scattered on the pelt.
James McNeill Whistler, Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl, 1861-1863, 1872, oil on canvas, Harris Whittemore Collection, 1943.6.2

Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl

James McNeill Whistler · 1861-1863, 1872 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1943.6.2