Cosmopolitanism and the Gilded Age

Note in Red: The Siesta, by 1884
Object-James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Note in Red: The Siesta
One of Whistler’s distinctive innovations was his use of musical terms such as harmony, nocturne, and note in titles of his works. Its purpose was to evoke the “purity” of music, an art form then considered to be independent of narrative content. Note in Red: The Siesta portrays Maud (Mary) Franklin, the artist’s model and mistress, lying on a red divan. Quickly and sketchily executed, her form, enveloped within a voluptuous dress that trails along the floor, suggests an unposed moment, a nap for the weary model. Whistler repeatedly returned to the theme of recumbent women and treated the subject in a thoroughly modern way. The apparent immediacy with which he painted Maud emphasizes his presence and their personal relationship. In its candid depiction of a private moment and its assertion of his persona and process, this work attests to Whistler’s status as an early proponent of modernism.
Learn more about this painting on the Terra Foundation website.
Note in Red: The Siesta, by 1884
Cosmopolitanism and the Gilded Age

Une Averse—rue Bonaparte, 1887

Morning at Breakwater, Shinnecock, c. 1897

In the Orchard, 1891

Summertime, 1894

Breton Woman with a Basket, Study for “En route pour la pêche” and “Fishing for Oysters at Cancale”, 1877

Breton Girl with a Basket, Study for “En route pour la pêche” and “Fishing for Oysters at Cancale”, 1877

Girl on the Beach, Study for “En route pour la pêche” and “Fishing for Oysters at Cancale”, 1877

Young Boy on the Beach, Study for “En route pour la pêche” and “Fishing for Oysters at Cancale”, 1877

The Zattere: Harmony in Blue and Brown, c. 1879

Note in Red: The Siesta, by 1884

From Shore to Shore, 1885

The Weaver, 1889

Brook, Giverny, 1887

On the Veranda, 1887

Lotus Lilies, 1888

Brittany Town Morning, Larmor, 1884

Dennis Miller Bunker Painting at Calcot, 1888

Spring Flowers (Peonies), by 1889

Horse Drawn Cabs at Evening, New York, c. 1890

Garden at Giverny (In Monet's Garden), c. 1887–91

Giverny Hillside, c. 1890–91

Horticulture Building, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893

Blossoms at Giverny, 1891–92

Self-Portrait, c. 1889–96

Les Invalides, Paris, 1896

Winter Landscape, c. 1890–1900

Havana Harbor, 1902

Portrait of Thomas J. Eagan, 1907

Portrait of a Lady Holding a Rose, 1912

Lady in a Garden, c. 1912