James McNeill Whistler

Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl

Date 1862
Materials Oil on canvas
Dimensions 214.6 cm x 108.0 cm
Marks Signed and dated: “Whistler, 1862”
Further information National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. www.nga.gov
Andrew McLaren Young, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1980 (38, plate 28).

Note Whistler described this painting as simply “a girl dressed in white standing in front of a white curtain”. It was later given the title Symphony in White, No. 1 to emphasise that its only subject was colour harmony. Joanna Hiffernan’s expressionless face and limp arms were intended to complement the neutral colour white, and to drive home the point that this painting did not have a conventional subject. Notice the fallen flowers. Critics thought that these indicated a story, symbolising the girl’s loss of innocence. Some thought it showed a woman on the morning after her wedding night. However, look how Whistler was more interested in tone and surface texture, delicately painting different shades of white and using the paint to suggest differing textures. For example, the front of Jo’s dress was very drily painted, so that the paint underneath shows through, suggesting the gauzy material.