Evening star., 1943-07-25
Art
Notes
Famous Whistlers
Become Property of
National Gallery
Bv Leila MechHn.

That the two notable paintings
bv Whistler, The White Girl" and
"L'Andelouse, which, for some time,
have been on exhibition In the Ma
tional Gallery of Art as loans, have
now become a part of the perma-
nent collection is good news indeed.
Both came from the Harris White
more collection-the former having
been acquired by Mr.. Whittemore
from Whistler in 1896, the latter
after 19OO-and were lent and now
given by the J. H. Whittemore
Co., Harris Whittemore, jr., presi-
dent, of Naugatuck, Conn.
Particular interest attaches to
these paintings, not only on account
of their excellence and celebrity,
but as representing two widely sepa-
rated periods in the painters career.
The White Girl" was painted in
Paris during the winter of 1852,
when Whistlers art was in a forma-
tive stage, and his creative ability
at high pitch, his age under 80;
whereas "L'AndalouSe" was late
work. dating from only very few
wears before his death, which oc-
CURED in 1908. The first is essen
TALLY adventurous; the second, a
consummation of experience &C
quired thereby.
Whistler spent the summer of
1861 in France painting pictures of
the sea on the coast of Brittany;
etching also as the spirit moved him.
In the early winter he took studio
on the Boulevard des Batignolles
and sent to London for his favorlte
model, Jo-Joanna Hefferman. Mrs.
Abbott-Who then for while is
said to have appeared in his work
as often as SaSkia in Rembrandt'S
It is she who is portrayed in The
White Girl" standing at full length,
In a white gown, against a white
figured background, with which, for
the purpose, Whistler had covered
the walls of his studio. 10. the
Pennells tell us. in their Life of
Whistler" was Irish, had little or
no education, but keen intelligence
so keen that before she ceased to
sit to Whistler she knew more about
painting than many painters, was
we'll read and had much charm"
In short, her value to Whistler as
a model was enormous. She sat also
for Courbet, whom she met in
Whistler's studio and with whom
Whistler at that time had close
friendship. In fact, there is a touch
of the Courbet influence to be seen
;,1p 9TH
paintings by Whistler done at that
time.
Ho1r 1t Uas Christened
It was Paul Mantz-not Whistler
who chriStened The White Car, j"
symphony in White" but the term
proved so appropriate that there
Nothing else could describe it so
we'll. We are apt to think of colors
in fixed terms and especially so of
White-whereaS it is not one but
many colorS-or tintS and tones
which. skillfully brought together,
are symphonic. Hugh Walpole wrote
enthusiastically at one time Of
painting, which he owned. by Utrillo,
in which he found II different
whites all harmoniously combined.
1t was undoubtedly the painter
problem which intrigued Whistler
in this instance. To correctly and
beautifully render these subtle
nuances of white fascinated him
and by his success he was per-
sonally exalted. It is quite differ
ent Whistler that we see in The
Little White Girl" Symphony in
White, IL, in the National Gallery.
London, or in The Music Room"
now in the Freer Gallery-the first
of which he painted in 1864, and
painted out and repainted in 1900
and the second done in London in
1860 when design engaged his chief
observation-disclosures later on he
changed the title of this work to
Harmony in Green and Rose"
Probably large part of Whistler's
fascination was his versatility and