James McNeill Whistler - Harmony in Gray and Green. Miss Cicely Alexander 1873
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Harmony in Gray and Green.
Miss Cicely Alexander 1873
190x98cm oil/canvas
Tate Britain, London
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From Tate Britain, London:
Cicely Alexander was the daughter of W.C. Alexander, a successful London banker. She was eight years old when Whistler painted this portrait. Alexander may have been introduced to Whistler through their mutual interest in Oriental art - Alexander had a collection of Japanese lacquerwork and blue and white china - and Whistler adds a touch of Japonisme to the portrait through the gold-edged black dado and wall divider, and the delicate daisies and butterflies. Whistler also painted Cicely's older sister, Agnes Mary, and had planned to paint her first, but was suddenly inspired to paint the younger girl in the dress and pose of Manet's Lola de Valence (1862, Musée d'Orsay).