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''Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1'', best known under its colloquial name ''Whistler's Mother'', is a painting in oils on canvas created by the American-born painter James McNeill Whistler in 1871. The painting is , displayed in a frame of Whistler's own design. It is exhibited in and held by the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, having been bought by the French state in 1891. It is one of the most famous works by an American artist outside the United States. It has been variously described as an American icon and a Victorian ''Mona Lisa''. ==History== Anna McNeill Whistler posed for the painting while living in London with her son at Cheyne Walk, Chelsea.〔(95-96 Cheyne Walk by Patrick Baty )〕 Several unverifiable stories relate to the painting of the work; one is that Anna Whistler acted as a replacement for another model who couldn't make the appointment. It is also said that Whistler originally envisioned painting the model standing up, but that his mother was too uncomfortable to pose standing for an extended period. Another story associated with the painting is that Whistler called upon his beautiful young neighbour, Helena Amelia Lindgren (1855-1931), of number 5, Lindsey Row, to sit in Anna's place when she grew too tired. Well into her old age, Helena talked of secretly modelling for Whistler, who was especially enamoured of her hands. According to a surviving letter of 1935 (now in the possession of Helena's great-great-great-grandson, David Charles Manners), Anna had first called on the Lindgrens to ask that Helena's older sister, Christina, be her stand-in. However, Christina's mother, Eliza Lyle née Warlters, forbade it. Ever a free spirit, Helena secretly offered herself instead and modeled for the portrait without her mother's knowledge. The work was shown at the 104th Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Art in London (1872), after coming within a hair's breadth of rejection by the Academy. This episode worsened the rift between Whistler and the British art world; ''Arrangement'' was the last painting he submitted for the Academy's approval. The sensibilities of a Victorian era viewing audience would not accept what was apparently a portrait being exhibited as an "arrangement"; thus the explanatory title ''Portrait of the Artist's Mother'' was appended. From this the work acquired its popular name. After Thomas Carlyle viewed the painting, he agreed to sit for a similar composition, this one titled ''Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 2''. Thus the previous painting became ''Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1'' more or less by default. Whistler eventually pawned the painting, which was acquired in 1891 by Paris' Musée du Luxembourg. Whistler's works, including this one, had attracted a number of imitators, and numerous similarly posed and restricted-colour palette paintings soon appeared, particularly by American expatriate painters. For Whistler, having one of his paintings displayed in a major museum helped attract wealthy patrons. In December 1884, Whistler wrote: As a proponent of ''art for art's sake'', Whistler professed to be perplexed and annoyed by the insistence of others upon viewing his work as a "portrait." In his 1890 book ''The Gentle Art of Making Enemies'', he wrote: The image has been used since the Victorian era, especially in the United States, as an icon for motherhood, affection for parents, and "family values" in general. For example, in 1934 the U.S. Post office issued a stamp engraved with a stylized image of ''Whistler's Mother'', accompanied by the slogan "In Memory and In Honor of the Mothers of America." Both "Whistler's Mother" and "Thomas Carlyle" were engraved by the English engraver Richard Josey.〔(University of Glasgow, James McNeil Whistler: The Etchings )〕 In the Borough of Ashland, Pennsylvania, an eight-foot high statue based on the painting was erected by the Ashland Boys' Association in 1938 during the Great Depression as a tribute to mothers.〔(Whistler's Mother statue ), Roadside America〕 The image has been repeatedly appropriated for commercial advertisements and parodies, such as doctored images of the subject watching a television, and sometimes accompanied by captions such as "Whistler's Mother is Off Her Rocker." In summing up the painting's influence, author Martha Tedeschi has stated: 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Whistler's Mother」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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