Arrangement in Black (The Lady in the Yellow Buskin)

Gallery 255, European Art 1850-1900, second floor (Rishel Gallery)

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Arrangement in Black (The Lady in the Yellow Buskin)

c. 1883

James Abbott McNeill Whistler (American (active England), 1834–1903)

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.

Gallery 255, European Art 1850-1900, second floor (Rishel Gallery)

Object Details

Title:

Arrangement in Black (The Lady in the Yellow Buskin)

Date:

c. 1883

Artist:

James Abbott McNeill Whistler (American (active England), 1834–1903)

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

7 feet 2 inches × 43 1/2 inches (218.4 × 110.5 cm) Framed: 8 feet 2 inches × 55 3/4 inches × 2 3/4 inches (248.9 × 141.6 × 7 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

Purchased with the W. P. Wilstach Fund, 1895

Accession Number:

W1895-1-11

Geography:

Made in England, Europe

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Gallery 255, European Art 1850-1900, second floor (Rishel Gallery)

Main Building

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