Whistler’s Woman in White: Joanna Hiffernan – a ‘beautifully focused’ show
New exhibition explores the relationship between James McNeill Whistler and his muse
You might have never heard Joanna Hiffernan’s name, but you probably know her face, said Alastair Smart in The Daily Telegraph. Born in Ireland in the 1840s, Hiffernan was the lover of the American artist James McNeill Whistler, and the model for his 1862 painting Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl – one of the most controversial works of its era.
Depicting Hiffernan in “a white house dress standing before a white muslin curtain”, it broke all the rules of contemporary portraiture: its scale was “almost life-size”, a format generally reserved for pictures of “important men”; the use of white on white was “radical”. The appearance of its model, meanwhile – notably her “free-flowing” red hair – lent itself to accusations of lewdness. It was a “succès de scandale” that played no small part in establishing Whistler’s reputation.
This new exhibition explores the relationship between the artist and his muse, pairing the work (here labelled Woman in White) with a number of paintings and prints by Whistler and his contemporaries, including no less than 30 depictions of Hiffernan. It’s a gripping show that “tells a fascinating story with the aid of first-rate pictures”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
By all accounts, Hiffernan was “quite a woman”: five years Whistler’s junior, she was his “mistress, friend, companion and sometime business manager”, said Melanie McDonagh in the London Evening Standard. Gustave Courbet, for whom she also modelled, remembered her singing Irish songs “with the soul of an artist”. Courbet’s sensuous “head-portrait” of her is one of the highlights here; another is Whistler’s portrayal of “Wapping low life”, in which Hiffernan looks “very much at home”.
But a few striking portraits “do not make an exhibition”. The rest of the show mainly consists of paintings only tangentially related to the subject: Klimt’s portrait of Hermine Gallia makes the grade because it depicts a woman in white, while Whistler’s interest in Japan justifies the inclusion of a number of unrelated Hiroshige woodblock prints. “This show, frankly, is a mess. It doesn’t really do anybody justice.”
I disagree, said Laura Cumming in The Observer. The exhibition is packed with arresting images. There are three “magnificent” Courbet seascapes from a holiday he took with the couple; a series of “fascinating” Whistler prints that capture Hiffernan’s “amazing copper tresses”; and a “marvellously dynamic” poster for a play of Wilkie Collins’s novel The Woman in White, with which Whistler’s portrait became associated. Nothing, however, rivals the painting itself. Seven foot tall, with “an astonishing range of colours in its palette of whites”, it is an unqualified masterpiece. Small as it is, this is a “beautifully focused” exhibition.
The Royal Academy of Arts, London W1 (royalacademy.org.uk). Until 22 May
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
7 magnificent hotels to visit before the summer crowds descend
The Week Recommends Have beach time in the Dominican Republic or a spa day in Saint-Tropez
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
The Week contest: Sheep spray
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
The bird flu fight is faltering
Talking Points Are pandemic lessons going unheeded?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Daniel Wallace's 5 favorite books that should not be forgotten
Feature The author recommends works by Italo Calvino, Evan S. Connell, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 picturesque homes in Arizona
Feature Featuring a glass elevator in Sedona and a grotto waterfall in Paradise Valley
By The Week Staff Published
-
Silversea cruise review: a Central and North American adventure
The Week Recommends An incredible journey featuring cultural exploration, cooking classes, comfort and more
By Yasemen Kaner-White Published
-
Baffin Island: looking for narwhal in Arctic Canada
The Week Recommends An exploration of this island between mainland Canada and Greenland is ideal for the adventurous at heart
By The Week UK Published
-
Knife: Salman Rushdie's 'mesmeric memoir' of brutal attack
The Week Recommends The author's account of ordeal which cost him his eye is both 'scary and heartwarming'
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sarah Langan recommends 6 women-centric horror books
Feature The horror novelist recommends works by Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 spacious homes for car lovers
Feature Featuring a 14-car showroom in Oregon and a Bentley-style apartment in Florida
By The Week Staff Published
-
6 serene homes in Vermont
Features Featuring a four-level Shaker barn in Hartland and a Scandinavian-inspired home in Stowe
By The Week US Published