A young woman with pale, peachy skin, wearing a long, flowing white dress, stands in front of a white curtain in this vertical portrait painting. Her auburn-red hair cascades down over and behind her shoulders. She looks to our left with green eyes, and her pink, full lips are closed. Her dress has puffed shoulders above a white-on-white striped pattern on the long sleeves. She stands on an animal pelt; it is not clear whether it is a wolf or a bear. The pelt spans the width of the painting and overlaps a blue patterned carpet. The animal’s mouth gapes to show sharp teeth. Its glassy eyes are wide open, and it seems to look at us. The edges of the animal skin are red. The woman holds a white lily by her side in her left hand, while yellow and purple flowers lie scattered on the pelt.

James McNeill Whistler, Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl, 1861-1863, 1872, oil on canvas, Harris Whittemore Collection, 1943.6.2

The Woman in White: Joanna Hiffernan and James McNeill Whistler

Slide Overview

Slide Overviews

Friday, September 23, 2022
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
East Building Auditorium (David Gariff)

In-person

Explore an introduction to The Woman in White, covering the exhibition's key works and the professional and personal relationship between artist James McNeill Whistler and Joanna Hiffernan. Education staff will help guide this presentation on an exhibition which features three famous paintings being shown together for the first time in the United States. (45–60 minutes)

July

Friday, July 22 at 1:00 p.m. (David Gariff)

Friday, July 29 at 1:00 p.m. (David Gariff)

August

Saturday, August 6 at 12:00 p.m. (David Gariff)

September

Friday, September 2 at 1:00 p.m. (Eric Denker)

Saturday, September 17 at 12:00 p.m. (Eric Denker)

Friday, September 23 at 1:00 p.m. (David Gariff)