Arrangement in Black (The Lady in the Yellow Buskin)
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, American (active England), 1834 - 1903
Date:
c. 1883Medium:
Oil on canvasDimensions:
7 feet 2 inches × 43 1/2 inches (218.4 × 110.5 cm)Curatorial Department:
European Painting
W1895-1-11Credit Line:
Purchased with the W. P. Wilstach Fund, 1895
c. 1883Medium:
Oil on canvasDimensions:
7 feet 2 inches × 43 1/2 inches (218.4 × 110.5 cm)Curatorial Department:
European Painting
* Gallery 111, American Art, first floor
Accession Number:W1895-1-11Credit Line:
Purchased with the W. P. Wilstach Fund, 1895
Label:
The subject of this painting, Lady Archibald Campbell, was interested in the art of her time and posed for three full-length portraits by Whistler. This was the only one to be completed and to survive. Lady Campbell's family, however, did not share her appreciation of contemporary art and rejected the painting, claiming it represented "a street walker encouraging a shy follower with a backward glance." But the work was purchased for the W. P. Wilstach Collection in 1895, making it the first Whistler painting bought for an American public collection.
The subject of this painting, Lady Archibald Campbell, was interested in the art of her time and posed for three full-length portraits by Whistler. This was the only one to be completed and to survive. Lady Campbell's family, however, did not share her appreciation of contemporary art and rejected the painting, claiming it represented "a street walker encouraging a shy follower with a backward glance." But the work was purchased for the W. P. Wilstach Collection in 1895, making it the first Whistler painting bought for an American public collection.
Explore the Collections
* Works in the collection are moved off view for many different reasons. Although gallery locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no guarantee that this object will be on display on the day of your visit.