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Charlotte Mason Picture Study Aid Whistler

Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl

1862
Oil on canvas
213 x 107.9 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

KEY TOPICS:

• This was part of a series of other paintings with the same “Symphony in White” title.

• The model is Joanna Hiffernan who he used for several of his paintings. (Jiminez)

• Hiffernan posed for this image after a long day of modeling which is why she seems tired
and less stylized as other portraits of women made during this time. (Merrill) Many have

speculated on the symbolism in the painting, but Whistler said of it that it was, “a girl

dressed in white standing in front of a white curtain.” (Wahl)

• She is holding a lily in her hand (a symbol usually reserved for pictures of Mary), which was
part of a larger bouquet, part of which has fallen to the floor. (Jordan)

• She is standing on a bearskin rug. (Jordan)

• The painting was originally called “The White Girl,” but Whistler later changed a number of

his paintings to remove any reference to the sitter or model. (Spencer)

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