Whistler's Mother

Hi
Here is the D'Orsay site. In it you can go from floor to floor and see some of the collections.
See if his Mother is still there
( if you ever go to London, in the Wallace Collection, is a painting of Whistler, as a young man. He was SO Goodlooking!

http://www.musee-orsay.fr/ORSAY/orsaygb/HTML.NSF/By+Filename/mosimple+index?OpenDocument

There is currently a first rate exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto on Turner, Whistler and Monet which includes many fine Whistlers. It will be moving to the Tate in London this fall, and then to the Musée d'Orsay. Visitors to those cities may want to catch it.

The D'Orsay is fabulous...my favorite museum. We walked into one room, several others in the room looking at this and that, I glanced over my shoulder and there was "Whistler's Mother", sitting all by herself, not a soul in front of her. It was so startling to see her there, alone and somewhat ignored for all else there to be seen. I couldn't tell you where in the museum she was, but I can say, there is so much in that museum that demands attention that you'll be able to enjoy her to your heart's content without too much interruption.

Hmmm....my husband is swearing she was in the Louvre. That's not what I'm remembering, but wherever she was, she was alone. Can someone settle our mini dispute or do we just need to go back and settle it between ourselves? Actually, the more I think of it, the more I think that is the ONLY solution....oui?

OO-
We won't tell your husband, so he can take you back asap..but the D'Orsay owns her and except for when she takes a tour, she lives at the D'Orsay

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the formal name of the painting may be something like Portrait in Black and White, not Whistler's Mother. May help you search.

"An Arrangement in Grey and Black"

When we saw the painting at the Orsay a year ago it was on the ground floor, to the right as you face the huge clock, in one of the several galleries at the back.

Have seen Whistler's mom twice this year, first on tour in Detroit in April and then back home (for her) last week in the D'Orsay. She currently lives on the top floor of the museum in room 30 amidst works by Manet and Degas.

Are you sure its the real thing..Mr Bean messed it up didn't he?

We were in the Orsay three weeks ago and Whistler's Mother was there!

OO, my reaction was exactly the same as yours! There we were, innocently purusing the treasures of the Musee d'Orsay and we turned a corner, and there on the right hand wall (I remember distinctly and this is a 14 year old memory) was Whistler's Mother. It was like visiting an old friend, but at the same time, it was a rather surreal experience. I mean, we've grown up with her, and there she was in the flesh (as it were).

I liked Whistler's Mother much better than Mona.

Whistler's Mother is owned and usually displayed by the Huntarian Art Gallery in Glasgow. Is it or has it been on loan to Musee d'Orsay?

The D'Orsay owns Whistlers Mother,( Arrangement in Black and Grey) and rarely loans it out.

The painting is definitely in the d'Orsay. It's one of the many great art treasures on display there.

Glasgow owns and shows Whistler's Mother (drypoint) and much of the artist's estate belongs to Glasgow University (purchased in 1972). More information at:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3300755.stm

Bill

billbarr, I hate to be picky but when I read that article, nowhere does it say that the Hunterian owns the Arrangement in Grey and Black.

They do have a Whistler Collection but if you check further, you will find that the D'Orsay owns this painting, in oil.

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Whistler's%20Mother

Maybe this will help settle the question~

Scarlett, you are not being picky.

Go the Huntarian Museum's own website and do a 'Collections INCA' search specifically for Whistler's Mother.

http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/

The results will give you many details of the museum's large Whistler collection including the 'Mother' drypoint. I am very fortunate in being only two minutes from the Huntarian and absolutely love its treasures. The museum itself is owned by Glasgow University.

Hope this gives you some clarification.

Bill

Scarlett, I also need to say that I know nothing of the technical types of paintings, etchings, pencil sketches , I just enjoy looking at it all.

Glasgow has a drypoint of Whistler's Mother and perhaps Paris has a different form of the piece???

Bill

Since you're on the subject of Whistler's Mother, I might as well inject my little piece of trivia here.

There is a statue of Whistler's Mother in Ashland, Pennsylvania (Route 61), which is said to be the only monument dedicated to "mothers" in the USA.

Just another piece of information to absorb......Peace.

Robyn

Thank you billbarr for saying I am not picky
The D'Orsay has the oil version, maybe that is the difference~
And I envy you the proximity of such a lovely museum.

yeah, I just saw it a week or so ago on the 5th floor of the Orsay. It's a large painting. I think I did see it before in the Louvre, however, in their small but good section of Impressionist paintings.

We are lucky, Scarlett but sometimes I think we take it a bit too much for granted. That stopped for me when years ago Glasgow Museums bought Dali's Christ of St John on the Cross. That painting alone started me on a wonderful journey.

What has been good this summer though is the numbers of visitors from the USA. More than I can remember for a long time. On Friday I met a large number who were looking for the Charles Rennie MacKintosh School of Art. By the time I explained where it was situated I felt I'd given them its entire history, way too much information. Maybe its time to change jobs LOL.

bill

In "Bean" Atkinson is a security guard, "the worst employee in the Royal National Gallery's history." About to be fired, he is rescued (for arbitrary reasons) by the Chairman of the Board. Simultaneously, the Gallery has been requested to send to Los Angeles a renowned British scholar to speak at the inauguration of the "best American painting," "Whistler's Mother," just purchased from the French Musee d'Orsay. (from http://www.prairienet.org/ejahiel/bean.htm)

I was so diappointed that the painting was on tour while I was in Paris this April at D'Orsay, I believe it was in Washington DC. What is the actual name of the work? Is it Study in Grey and Black? I did have the the happy surprise of seeing Edward Hopper on loan from my hometown museum, The Whitney, though at the Museum of American Artists in Giverny. Nighthawks wasn't part of the collections, sadly but some other fine pieces were.

ninasdream, it is Arrangement in Grey and Black.
We saw the Hopper exhibition here in Jax Fl a couple of months ago. I enjoyed it.

"Arrangement in Grey and Black Number 1". Number 2 is a portrait of Carlyle.

I believe the oil painting was loaned to the Hunterian last year for their special, enlarged Whistler exhibition.

Mom????

Christina, how was your trip?
Any new observations or recommendations?

The painting affectionately called "Whistler's Mother" is in the Musee d'Orsay and you can see it at the following website.

www.abcgallery.com/W/whistler/whistler37.html

The official name is "Arrangement in Gray and Black No. 1: Portrait of the Artist's Mother." 1871. Oil on canvas. ...

There is also "Arrangement in Gray and Black No.2: Portrait of Thomas Carlyle." 1872. Oil on canvas. ...

www.abcgallery.com/W/whistler/whistler39.html 0

HAVE A LOOK AT BOTH.

Whistler worked and reworked in various media (etchings, watercolors, oils) so it is possible there are multiple "Arrangements in Gray and Black" which would, amazingly, make everyone right. One biography, for example, makes reference to "Arrangement in Gray and Black No.2: Self portrait".

laverendrye, you have the dates and places wrong for the Turner, Whistler, Monet Exhibit. It is in Paris at the Grand Palais from October 15 to Jan 17, 2005 and goes to the Tate next year, February, 2005, not this fall.

Thanks for the correction. In my haste I misread the information on the exhibition.