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Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1
James McNeill Whistler
Known universally as Whistler's Mother, and the first American painting bought by the French state.
- Artist
- James McNeill Whistler
- Date
- 1871
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 144.3 × 162.4 cm
- Location
- Musée d'Orsay, Paris
History
What the record shows
Whistler insisted the subject was tonal arrangement rather than portraiture, and titled it accordingly.
Purchased by France in 1891, it now travels only occasionally; the thin, matte paint layer is intolerant of surface cleaning.
Provenance
Chain of ownership
- 01Whistler studio, London, 1871
- 02Purchased by the French State, 1891
- 03Musée du Luxembourg, then the Louvre
- 04Musée d'Orsay from 1986
