Whistler’s Mother 1871 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Whistler’s Mother 1871 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler
Year: 1871 | Medium: Oil on canvas | Location: Musée d’Orsay, Paris

The colloquial name Whistler’s Mother was given to this oil on canvas work, originally titled Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 by James Abbott McNeil Whistler. Indeed, the subject is Anna McNeil Whistler, Whistler’s mother, who posed for this masterpiece while living in London with her son in 1871. While it is an iconic American piece of art (also called a Victorian Mona Lisa), Whistler’s Mother hangs today in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, first purchased by the French in 1891. It remains one of the most famous paintings by an American artist outside of the US.