Titles

Only one title is known:

• 'Arrangement in violet and pink. (Portrait of Mrs. Walter Sickert)' (1887, Royal Society of British Artists). 1
• 'Arrangement in Violet and Pink: Mrs Walter Sickert' (1980, YMSM). 2

The punctuation was simplified for the 1980 catalogue, so 'Arrangement in Violet and Pink: Mrs Walter Sickert' is the preferred title.

Description

The Artist described it as 'a full-length portrait of Mrs. Walter Sickert, an “Arrangement in Violet and Pink,” eminently powerful in handling, and full of refinement.' 3 The Sunday Times commented on the dress and décor: 'The dark violet dress ... against a pink curtain, and relieved by the red of a pretty hat and handkerchief is a masterly piece of painting. The right arm daintily holds the dress, while the left carries the hat.' 4 The Illustrated London News, however, described the dress as black silk, and the Standard said her hat was trimmed with red. 5

Sitter

Ellen 'Nellie' Millicent Ashburner Cobden, Mrs W. R. Sickert (1848-1914).

Green and Violet: Portrait of Mrs Walter Sickert, Fogg Art Museum

She also posed for the portrait reproduced above, Green and Violet: Portrait of Mrs Walter Sickert [YMSM 338].