At the Piano dates from 1858-1859. 1 It was started during the Christmas holiday, between 6 November 1858 and 12 January 1859, when Whistler was staying his half-sister, Deborah Delano Haden (1825-1908), her husband, Francis Seymour Haden, Sr (1818-1910), and family. 2

At the Piano, Taft Museum of Art

It was presumably completed by May 1859 when, according to Ignace-Henri-Jean-Théodore Fantin-Latour (1836-1904), it was submitted to the Paris Salon, rejected, and then exhibited in the studio of François Bonvin (1817-1887). 3