![Whistler James Symphony in White no 1 (The White Girl) 1862](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Whistler_James_Symphony_in_White_no_1_%28The_White_Girl%29_1862.jpg)
Joanna Hiffernan (1843 – 1886) or Joanna Heffernan was an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
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* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
artists' model and
muse
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
who was romantically linked with American painter
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...
and French painter
Gustave Courbet
Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and ...
. In addition to being an artists' model, Hiffernan herself also drew and painted, although it is not believed she ever exhibited her work.
[
]
Early life
Hiffernan was a Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
, born in Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
in Ireland in 1843 to Anne ''née'' Hickey and Patrick Hiffernan. She and her family may have left Ireland for London during the Great Famine of 1845 to 1848, taking up residence at 69 Newman Street. The spelling errors in her surviving letters reveal she received a modest education.[Jill Berk Jiminez (e]
''Dictionary of Artists' Models''
Routledge (2001) - Google Books pgs. 275-278 Her father, Patrick Hiffernan, was described by Whistler's friends, Joseph Pennell
Joseph Pennell (July 4, 1857 – April 23, 1926) was an American draftsman, etcher, lithographer and illustrator for books and magazines. A prolific artist, he spent most of his working life in Europe, and is known for his interest in landmarks, l ...
and his wife Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
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* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
, as being like "Captain Costigan," the drunken Irishman in Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel ''Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and th ...
's novel ''Pendennis
''The History of Pendennis: His Fortunes and Misfortunes, His Friends and His Greatest Enemy'' (1848–50) is a novel by the English author William Makepeace Thackeray. It is set in 19th-century England, particularly in London. The main ...
''. The Pennells also described him as "a teacher of polite chirography ( calligraphy)" who used to speak of Whistler as "me son-in-law." Her mother died in 1862, aged 44. Joanna Hiffernan had a sister called Bridget Agnes Hiffernan, later Singleton. The artist Walter Greaves, who began tuition with Whistler in 1863, and who knew Hiffernan well, said that she had a son called Harry but no trace of him can be found in official records.
She dressed strikingly at Whistler's expense, with George du Maurier
George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch'' and a Gothic novel ''Trilby'', featuring the character Svengali. His son was the actor Sir Gerald ...
scornfully commenting that "Jo came with histlerto me... got up like a duchess, without crinoline
A crinoline is a stiff or structured petticoat designed to hold out a woman's skirt, popular at various times since the mid-19th century. Originally, crinoline described a stiff fabric made of horsehair ("crin") and cotton or linen which was ...
- the mere ''making up'' of her bonnet by Madame somebody or other in Paris had cost 50 fr."[
]
Artist's model
Whistler first met the 17-year-old Jo Hiffernan in 1860 while she was at a studio in Rathbone Place, and in about 1861 began a 6-year relationship with her, during which period she modelled for some of his most famous paintings. Physically striking, Hiffernan's personality was even more impressive. Whistler's biographers and friends, the Pennells, wrote of her, She was not only beautiful. She was intelligent, she was sympathetic. She gave Whistler the constant companionship he could not do without.
Whistler's family did not approve of Hiffernan. Unmarried artists' models, and especially those who posed nude, were considered at that time to be little better than prostitutes. However, Hiffernan seems only to have modeled for friends, so perhaps the objections to her made by Whistler's family were based more on social class than on Hifferman's personal character. When Whistler's mother
''Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1'', best known under its colloquial name ''Whistler's Mother'' or ''Portrait of Artist's Mother'', is a painting in oils on canvas created by the American-born painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler in 1871. ...
visited from America in 1864, alternative accommodation had to be found for Hiffernan, who also seems to have been the cause of Whistler's quarrel with Alphonse Legros in 1863.['The Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler']
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
Whistler Archive
She was in France with Whistler during the summer of 1861, and while in Paris during the winter of 1861–62 she sat for '' Symphony in White, No. I: The White Girl'' at a studio in Boulevard des Batignolles and in 1864–65 she posed for '' Symphony in White, No. 2: The Little White Girl''. It is possible that this is when she met Whistler's friend and fellow artist, Gustave Courbet
Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and ...
, for whom she later modeled. Although there are some that think Hiffernan was the model for Courbet's ''L'Origine du monde
("The Origin of the World") is a picture painted in oil on canvas by the French artist Gustave Courbet in 1866. It is a close-up view of the vulva and abdomen of a naked woman, lying on a bed with legs spread.
History Identity of the model
Ar ...
'', which depicts a nude woman's vulva; the majority of expert opinion is that the model was Constance Quéniaux, a dancer and courtisan.
Hiffernan attended séance
A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French word for "session", from the Old French ''seoir'', "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, spea ...
s with Whistler at Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...
's house in Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
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* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
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United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
in 1863, and spent the summer and autumn of 1865 in Trouville with Whistler. In 1866 Whistler gave Hiffernan power of attorney
A power of attorney (POA) or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs (which may be financial or regarding health and welfare), business, or some other legal matter. The person auth ...
over his affairs while he was in Valparaiso for seven months, making provision for household expenses and giving her the authority to act as an agent in the sale of his works. She called herself Mrs. Abbot, especially when selling Whistler’s works around art dealers to raise money.
During Whistler's absence, Hiffernan travelled to Paris and posed for Courbet in ''The Sleepers'', or ''Le Sommeil
''Le Sommeil'' (translated in English variously as ''The Sleepers'' and ''Sleep'') is an eroticDorothy M. KosinskiGustave Courbet's ''The Sleepers.'' The Lesbian Image in Nineteenth Century French Art and Literature Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 9, N ...
'', which depicts two naked women in bed asleep. It is likely that she had an affair with Courbet at this time. After the end of his relationship with Hiffernan, Whistler left a will in her favour.
Later years
After she and Whistler parted, Hiffernan helped to raise Whistler's son, Charles James Whistler Hanson (1870–1935), the result of an affair with a parlour maid, Louisa Fanny Hanson.[ He lived with Hiffernan at 5 Thistle Grove as late as 1880 when Whistler was away in ]Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
with Maud Franklin, his then mistress.[ The 1881 English census recorded Hiffernan, her sister Bridget Agnes Hiffernan (1845-1921) and Charles Hanson as visitors of accountant Charles Singleton (whom Bridget would marry in 1901) at 2 Thistle Grove.
Little is known of Hiffernan after 1880. A woman reported to Juliette Courbet (1831–1915), the sister of Gustave Courbet, in a letter of 18 December 1882, that "the beautiful Irish girl" was in Nice, where she sold antiques and some pictures by Courbet. It is said that Hiffernan married a man named Abbot some time after 1881, possibly on the Continent,][ but this may be an misunderstanding due to Hiffernan calling herself 'Mrs. Abbot' while selling Whistler's paintings to art dealers to raise funds during their relationship. Joanna died July 3, 1886 at 2 Millman Street, Holborn. The most likely cause of death was respiratory failure.
The art collector ]Charles Lang Freer
Charles Lang Freer (February 25, 1854 – September 25, 1919) was an American industrialist, art collector, and patron. He is known for his large collection of East Asian, American, and Middle Eastern Art. In 1906, Freer donated his extensive col ...
met Agnes Hiffernan when he was a pallbearer at Whistler's funeral in 1903 when she came forward in heavy mourning
Mourning is the expression of an experience that is the consequence of an event in life involving loss, causing grief, occurring as a result of someone's death, specifically someone who was loved although loss from death is not exclusively ...
to pay her last respects. Thinking he had just met Joanna, Freer so informed his fellow art patron Louisine Havemeyer
Louisine Waldron Elder Havemeyer (July 28, 1855 – January 6, 1929) was an art collector, feminist, and philanthropist. In addition to being a patron of impressionist art, she was one of the more prominent contributors to the suffrage movem ...
(1855–1929) who later recorded the incident as she heard it:"As she raised her veil and I saw ... the thick wavy hair, although it was streaked with grey, I knew at once it was Johanna, the Johanna of Etretat, 'la belle Irlandaise' that Courbet had painted with her wonderful hair and a mirror in her hand.... She stood for a long time beside the coffin—nearly an hour I should think.... I could not help being touched by the feeling she showed toward her old friend. "Did Maud ranklincome?" avemeyerasked. "Yes" answered Mr. Freer, "the same afternoon. She had come all the way from Paris and was very much affected as I uncovered Whistler's face for her to see him." ... ne could see, Freer mused"that the real drama of histler'slife was bound up in the love of hesedevoted women."[Louisine W. Havemeyer, Sixteen to Sixty: Memoirs of a Collector (1961; reprint Ursus Press, New York, 1993), pp. 212–213.
]
See also
*'' Symphony in White, No. 2: The Little White Girl''
Literature
* Du Maurier, Daphne (Ed.): ''The Young George du Maurier: A Selection of his Letters, 1860–67'', Garden City, NY, Doubleday, 1952
* Guégan, Stéphane & Haddad, Michèle: ''L'ABCdaire de Courbet et le realisme'', Paris, Flammarion, 1996
* Ionides, Luke: ''Memories'', 1925, Paris
* Lechien, Isabelle Enaud: ''James Whistler, le peintre et le polémiste 1834–1903'', Paris, ACR Édition, 1995
* MacDonald, Margaret F. et al.: ''Whistler, Women and Fashion'', 2003, New Haven and London, Yale University Press
* Orban, Christine ( fr): ''J’étais l’origine du monde'', Paris, Albin Michel, 2000
* Pennell, Elizabeth Robins and Pennell, Joseph: ''The Life of James McNeill Whistler'', 2 vols, 1908, London and Philadelphia, Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott company ; London : W. Heinemann
* Pennell, Elizabeth Robins and Pennell, Joseph: ''The Whistler Journal'', 1921, Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott Company
* Savatier, Thierry: ''L'Origine du monde, histoire d'un tableau de Gustave Courbet'', Paris, Bartillat, 2006
* Teyssèdre, Bernard ( fr): ''Le roman de l’origine'', Paris, Gallimard, 1996
* MacDonald, Margaret F, et al, ''The Woman in White'', National Gallery of Art, Washington, Royal Academy of Arts, London, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, '' ''
References
External links
Hiffernan's Biography
Short Biography on 'Mr Whistler's Art' website
Letter from Whistler regarding Hiffernan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiffernan, Joanna
Irish female models
Women of the Victorian era
1843 births
People from Limerick (city)
20th-century deaths
Muses
Place of birth missing