Detail from The Canal, Amsterdam, 1889, James McNeill Whistler, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

 

Arrangement in Violet and Pink: Mrs Walter Sickert

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 Mellicent Sickert (1848-1914) .


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

Notes:

1: 64th Annual Exhibition, Royal Society of British Artists, London, 1887 (cat. no. 157).

2: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 337).

3: The Artist and Journal of Home Culture, 1887, vol. 8, p. 149.

4: Sunday Times, 17 April 1887; press cutting in GUL Whistler PC 7, pp. 73, 75.

5: The Illustrated London News, 1887, vol. 90, p. 406; Standard, undated press cutting, [April 1887]: press cuttings in GUL Whistler PC 7, pp. 73, 75.

Last updated: 12th November 2020 by Margaret