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''Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1'', best known under its
colloquial name Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conversa ...
''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. The subject of the painting is Whistler's mother, Anna McNeill Whistler. The painting is , displayed in a frame of Whistler's own design. It is held by the
Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...
in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, 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 The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...
''.


History

Anna McNeill Whistler posed for the painting while living in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
with her son at Cheyne Walk, Chelsea. 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. The sensibilities of a
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
viewing audience would not accept what was a portrait exhibited as an "arrangement", hence the addition of the explanatory title ''Portrait of the Painter's mother''. From this, the work acquired its enduring nickname of simply ''Whistler's Mother''. After
Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...
viewed the painting, he agreed to sit for a similar composition, this one titled ''
Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 2 In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...
''. Thus the previous painting became, by default, ''Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1''. Whistler eventually pawned the painting, acquired in 1891 by Paris's Musée du Luxembourg. Whistler's works, including this one, had attracted several imitators. Numerous similarly posed and restricted-colour palette paintings soon appeared, particularly by American expatriate painters. For Whistler, having one of his paintings displayed in a major museum helped attract wealthy patrons. In December 1884, Whistler wrote: As a proponent of " art for art's sake", Whistler professed to be perplexed and annoyed by the insistence of others upon viewing his work as a "portrait". In his 1890 book ''The Gentle Art of Making Enemies'', he wrote: Both ''Whistler's Mother'' and ''Thomas Carlyle'' were engraved by the English engraver
Richard Josey Richard Josey (4 October 1840 – 6 February 1906) was a prominent mezzotint engraver in Victorian London. Life Josey was born at Reading, and received his education at the local Reading Blue Coat School. At the age of 13 he was apprenticed to T ...
. The image has been used since the Victorian era as an icon for motherhood, affection for parents, and "family values" in general, especially in the United States. For example, in 1934, the
U.S. Post Office Department The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, in the form of a Cabinet department, officially from 1872 to 1971. It was headed by the postma ...
issued a stamp engraved with the portrait detail from ''Whistler's Mother'', bearing the slogan "In memory and in honor of the mothers of America." In the Borough of Ashland, Pennsylvania, an eight-foot-high statue based on the painting was erected as a tribute to mothers by the Ashland Boys' Association in 1938, during the Great Depression. The image has been repeatedly appropriated for commercial
advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
s and parodies, such as doctored images of the subject watching television, and sometimes accompanied by captions such as "Whistler's Mother Is Off Her Rocker." In summing up the painting's influence, art historian
Martha Tedeschi Martha P. Tedeschi (born April 1, 1958) is an American art historian and curator. Tedeschi currently serves as the Elizabeth and John Moors Cabot Director of the Harvard Art Museums. She is a scholar of nineteenth-century American and British pr ...
has stated:


Exhibitions in American museums

''Whistler's Mother'' has been exhibited several times in the United States. It was shown at the
Atlanta Art Association The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...
in the fall of 1962, the
National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...
in 1994, and the Detroit Institute of Arts in 2004. It was exhibited at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts from June to September 2006. From May 22 to September 6, 2010, it was shown at the
M. H. de Young Memorial Museum ( ; ; pl. ; ; 1512, from Middle French , literally "my lord") is an honorific title that was used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It has now become the customary French title of resp ...
in San Francisco. The painting was exhibited at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California, from March 27 to June 22, 2015, and then at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was shown at the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
from March 4 to May 21, 2017. It had returned to the Musee d'Orsay as of early August 2019.


In popular culture

The painting has been featured or mentioned in numerous works of fiction and within pop culture. These include films such as ''
Sing and Like It ''Sing and Like It'' is a 1934 American pre-Code comedy film directed by William A. Seiter from a screenplay by Marion Dix and Laird Doyle, based on the unpublished short story ''So You Won't Sing, Eh?'' by Aben Kandel. The film stars ZaSu Pi ...
'' (1934), the
Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
short ''
Donald's Diary Donald's Diary is a Donald Duck short film which was produced in Technicolor and released February 13, 1954 by RKO Radio Pictures. Plot In San Francisco, Donald meets Daisy Duck and the two fall in love. They date, get engaged, and finally m ...
'' (1954), '' The Fortune Cookie'' (1966), ''
The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also ...
'' (1975), ''
Babette's Feast ''Babette's Feast'' ( da, Babettes Gæstebud) is a 1987 Danish drama film directed by Gabriel Axel. The screenplay, written by Axel, was based on the 1958 story of the same name by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen). It was produced by Just Betzer, Bo ...
'' (1986), ''
Bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
'' (1997), '' I Am Legend'' (2007), and '' Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2'' (2013). English rock musician
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
used a self-portrait modeled after the painting on the cover of his 1975 compilation album ''
Shaved Fish ''Shaved Fish'' is a compilation album by English rock musician John Lennon with the Plastic Ono Band, issued in October 1975 on Apple Records. It contains all of the single (music), singles that he had issued up to that point in the United State ...
''. It has been mentioned in television episodes of ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' (" Rosebud", "
The Trouble with Trillions "The Trouble with Trillions" is the twentieth episode in the ninth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 5, 1998. It was written by Ian Maxtone-Gra ...
", and "
The Burns and the Bees "The Burns and the Bees" is the eighth episode of the twentieth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 7, 2008. In the episode, during a poker game, M ...
"). The painting is mentioned in Vladimir Nabokov's novel
Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Humber ...
. The painting is mentioned in part six of Don Delillo's novel ''
Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...
''. In a four-part episode of the ''
Underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...
'' cartoon series (Parts 69-72 in the series) entitled "Whistler's Father", Underdog is assigned to stand guard in a museum to prevent the theft of a valuable painting called ''Whistler's Father''. The film '' The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear'' (1991) features the shape of the painting as a birthmark that is used to identify a character after he is replaced with an "evil double." The painting is central to the plot of the comedy film ''
Bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
'' (1997), in which Mr. Bean accidentally defaces it during its repatriation to the United States and secretly replaces it with a poster. The painting was featured in ''
America's Next Top Model, Cycle 5 ''America's Next Top Model (cycle 5)'' was the fifth cycle of America's Next Top Model. Janice Dickinson was replaced by Twiggy and Nolé Marin was replaced by J. Alexander. The prizes for this cycle were: * A contract with Ford Models. * A sp ...
'' to inspire the photoshoots for
Olay Olay, previously Oil of Olay, Oil of Olaz, Oil of Ulan or Oil of Ulay, is an American skin care brand owned by Procter & Gamble. For the 2009 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, Olay accounted for an estimated $2.8 billion of P&G's revenue. Ear ...
's Quench body lotion, in a modern interpretation of the classical artwork.
Fred Armisen Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series ''Portlandia''. He ...
's character Karl Cowperthwaite frequently mentions the painting in season 4 of the TV show '' Last Man on Earth''.
Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...
’s '' Anything Goes'' lists the painting in the song " You're the Top". Actor
Hurd Hatfield William Rukard Hurd Hatfield (December 7, 1917 – December 26, 1998) was an American actor. He is best known for having played characters of handsome, narcissism, narcissistic young men, most notably Dorian Gray in the film ''The Picture of Dori ...
toured internationally several times with the play ''Son of Whistler's Mother'' by playwright Maggie Williams. The movie ''
Sneakers Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...
'' (1992) features two characters code-named Whistler and Mother, played by David Strathairn and Dan Ackroyd, respectively. Between 1959 and 2021, the Douglas A-26 Invader serial number 41-39401 was either flown or displayed with the name of Whistler's Mother. It featured a reproduction of the painting on the nose.


In music

Whistler, and particularly this painting, had a profound effect on
Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
, a contemporary French composer. In 1894, Debussy wrote to violinist
Eugène Ysaÿe Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (; 16 July 185812 May 1931) was a Belgian virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar". Legend of the Ysaÿe violin Eugène Ysaÿe ...
describing his ''
Nocturnes A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. History The term ''nocturne'' (from French ''nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensemble ...
'' as "an experiment in the different combinations that can be obtained from one color – what a study in grey would be in painting." Whether Debussy used the term ''color'' to refer to orchestration or harmony, critics have observed "shades" of a particular sound quality in his music.Weintraub, Stanley. 2001. ''Whistler: A Biography'' (New York: Da Capo Press). , p. 351


See also

*
Zephaniah Kingsley Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. (December 4, 1765 – September 14, 1843) was a Quaker, born in England, who moved as a child with his family to South Carolina, and became a planter, slave trader, and merchant. He built four plantations in the Spanish co ...
, uncle


References


Further reading

* Sutherland, Daniel E. and Toutziari, Georgia (2018). ''Whistler's Mother: Portrait of an Extraordinary Life''. Yale University Press. . * Walden, Sarah (2003). ''Whistler and His Mother: An Unexpected Relationship: Secrets of an American Masterpiece''. London: Gibson Square; Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. .


External links

*
Whistler's Mother
' at the Musée d'Orsay {{Authority control 1871 paintings Paintings in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay Paintings by James Abbott McNeill Whistler Portraits of women