Skip to main contentProvenanceThe artist
Miss Louise Kinsella, London, England
Marchesa Presbitero, Rome, Italy (sister of Miss Louise Kinsella)
Olivia Frances Kinsella Durham, Basingstoke, c. 1944 (niece of Marchesa Presbitero)
Louise Pleydell-Bouverie, until 1973 (daughter of Olivia Frances Kinsella Durham)
Meredith J. Long, Houston, Texas
Davis & Long Company, Inc., New York, New York, 1974–75
Virginia Steele Scott Foundation, Pasadena, California, 1977
Davis & Langdale Company, Inc., New York, New York
Daniel J. Terra Collection, 1983
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1987
Exhibition HistoryPublished References
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
(American, 1834–1903)
Rose et Vert, l'Iris: Portrait of Miss Kinsella
begun 1894
Oil on canvas
Image: 75 1/2 x 35 1/2 in. (191.8 x 90.2 cm)
Frame: 81 x 40 3/8 in. (205.7 x 102.6 cm)
Frame: 81 x 40 3/8 in. (205.7 x 102.6 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection
Object number1987.32
SignedUnsigned
InterpretationJames McNeill Whistler’s unfinished portrait of Louise Kinsella, one of three daughters of American newspaper editor Thomas Kinsella, is among a number of full-length standing portraits of women in harmonious color schemes that he painted throughout the course of his career. Emerging from a shadowy, dim background, the woman assumes a deliberately artificial pose, holding an iris in her right hand and gathering the folds of her long, low-cut dress in the left. The train of her diaphanous pink gown sweeps across the ground in front of her, as if she has just turned and paused in mid-stride, but her direct gaze evinces "the utmost calm and assurance," according to the artist.
Whistler worked on the portrait over the course of his last decade, and it was still in his studio at the time of his death. Whistler had painted it in a series of thin glazes that he applied and then partly removed, painstakingly building up the layers to achieve an ethereal, luminous appearance. In 1897, three years after he had begun it, however, the artist’s friend and biographer Joseph Pennell pronounced the portrait so perfect that he was afraid Whistler’s continued work would ruin it. Dissatisfied, Whistler then proceeded to scrape out and repaint various areas of the surface, in several places allowing the coarse texture of the canvas to interfere with the appearance of the pigment. As a result, the soft, limpid effect Whistler intended disappeared in the rather scrubbed surface of the painting, and the perfection admired by Pennell is irretrievably lost.
Beginning with his portraits and figure paintings of the early 1860s, Whistler pioneered the portrayal of the beautiful—and beautifully dressed—woman as decorative object. Even his most famous portrait, Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Artist’s Mother (1871, Musée du Louvre, Paris), is, as its title suggests, as much an exercise in abstract composition as a wryly sympathetic portrait of a starchy Victorian matriarch. Similarly, the title of Miss Kinsella’s portrait makes the sitter secondary to the color scheme and the floral reference. The work makes little pretense of characterizing, describing, or individualizing its subject—except perhaps obliquely, by likening her to the elegant flower delicately held in her extended hand. While Whistler’s portrait of his mother and other early portraits play the figure against the flat, decorative background in harmonious color schemes, in this work this shadowy rendering of the figure against a darkened background, along with her artificial pose proffering the iris, hint at symbolic meaning. In this respect, Rose et Vert, l’Iris: Portrait of Miss Kinsella echoes precedents in medieval and Renaissance art, in which flowers often have emblematic value, as well as more recent developments in European art with whose principal players Whistler had associated: the English Pre-Raphaelite movement, whose adherents used medieval legends and modern themes as moral allegories; and symbolism, a movement in poetry as well as the visual arts to give form to ideas from the subconscious. In this suggestive portrait, Whistler aimed to infuse an ideal of female form with an aura of timelessness and subtle mystery.
Whistler worked on the portrait over the course of his last decade, and it was still in his studio at the time of his death. Whistler had painted it in a series of thin glazes that he applied and then partly removed, painstakingly building up the layers to achieve an ethereal, luminous appearance. In 1897, three years after he had begun it, however, the artist’s friend and biographer Joseph Pennell pronounced the portrait so perfect that he was afraid Whistler’s continued work would ruin it. Dissatisfied, Whistler then proceeded to scrape out and repaint various areas of the surface, in several places allowing the coarse texture of the canvas to interfere with the appearance of the pigment. As a result, the soft, limpid effect Whistler intended disappeared in the rather scrubbed surface of the painting, and the perfection admired by Pennell is irretrievably lost.
Beginning with his portraits and figure paintings of the early 1860s, Whistler pioneered the portrayal of the beautiful—and beautifully dressed—woman as decorative object. Even his most famous portrait, Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Artist’s Mother (1871, Musée du Louvre, Paris), is, as its title suggests, as much an exercise in abstract composition as a wryly sympathetic portrait of a starchy Victorian matriarch. Similarly, the title of Miss Kinsella’s portrait makes the sitter secondary to the color scheme and the floral reference. The work makes little pretense of characterizing, describing, or individualizing its subject—except perhaps obliquely, by likening her to the elegant flower delicately held in her extended hand. While Whistler’s portrait of his mother and other early portraits play the figure against the flat, decorative background in harmonious color schemes, in this work this shadowy rendering of the figure against a darkened background, along with her artificial pose proffering the iris, hint at symbolic meaning. In this respect, Rose et Vert, l’Iris: Portrait of Miss Kinsella echoes precedents in medieval and Renaissance art, in which flowers often have emblematic value, as well as more recent developments in European art with whose principal players Whistler had associated: the English Pre-Raphaelite movement, whose adherents used medieval legends and modern themes as moral allegories; and symbolism, a movement in poetry as well as the visual arts to give form to ideas from the subconscious. In this suggestive portrait, Whistler aimed to infuse an ideal of female form with an aura of timelessness and subtle mystery.
Miss Louise Kinsella, London, England
Marchesa Presbitero, Rome, Italy (sister of Miss Louise Kinsella)
Olivia Frances Kinsella Durham, Basingstoke, c. 1944 (niece of Marchesa Presbitero)
Louise Pleydell-Bouverie, until 1973 (daughter of Olivia Frances Kinsella Durham)
Meredith J. Long, Houston, Texas
Davis & Long Company, Inc., New York, New York, 1974–75
Virginia Steele Scott Foundation, Pasadena, California, 1977
Davis & Langdale Company, Inc., New York, New York
Daniel J. Terra Collection, 1983
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1987
Exhibition History
Fourteenth Exhibition, Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Champs de Mars, Paris, France, April 17–June 30, 1904.
Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Late James McNeill Whistler, First President of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters, and Gravers, New Gallery, London, England, February 22–April 15, 1905. [exh. cat.]
Loan, The Tate Gallery, London, England, February–March 1951.
New Year Exhibition. Pictures, Drawings and Sculpture by 19th and 20th Century Artists, Ernest Brown & Philips Ltd., Leicester Galleries, London, England, January 1955.
Four for Whistler: An Exhibition by the Pupils of James McNeill Whistler, Parkin Gallery, London, England, April 26–May 31, 1972, no. 52.
The Aesthetic Movement and Cult of Japan, The Fine Art Society, London, England, October 3–27, 1972. [exh. cat.]
American Painting, Davis & Long Company, Inc., New York, New York, October 15–November 2, 1974. [exh. cat.]
Puvis de Chavannes and the Modern Tradition, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada, October 24–November 30, 1975. [exh. cat.]
Exhibition, Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, Virginia, June 1975.
La Femme, American Art: Images of Beauty (1880–1917), Grand Central Art Galleries, Inc., New York, New York, October 26–December 10, 1983. [exh. cat.]
La Femme, The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, Tennessee, November 10, 1984–January 13, 1985.
A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–June 21, 1987. [exh. cat.]
Face to Face: Portraits from the Collections of Terra Museum of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 8, 1994–April 2, 1995.
American Treasures: Chase, Whistler, and the Prendergasts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 26, 1996–January 5, 1997.
Un regard américain sur Paris (An American Glance at Paris), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 11–October 31, 1997.
Visages de l'Amérique: de George Washington à Marilyn Monroe (Faces of America: From George Washington to Marilyn Monroe), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2004. [exh. cat.]
Twarze Ameryki: Portrety z kolekcji Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940 (Faces of America: Portraits from the collection of the Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France and Miedzynarodowe Centrum Kultury (International Cultural Center), Cracow, Poland (organizers). Venue: International Cultural Center, Cracow, Poland, February 15–May 7, 2006. [exh. cat.]
Portrait of a Lady : peintures et photographies américaines en France, 1870–1915 (Portrait of a Lady: American Paintings and Photographs in France, 1870–1915), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France and Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France (organizers). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France, April 1–July 14, 2008; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France, September 25, 2008–January 5, 2009. [exh. cat.]
Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Late James McNeill Whistler, First President of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters, and Gravers, New Gallery, London, England, February 22–April 15, 1905. [exh. cat.]
Loan, The Tate Gallery, London, England, February–March 1951.
New Year Exhibition. Pictures, Drawings and Sculpture by 19th and 20th Century Artists, Ernest Brown & Philips Ltd., Leicester Galleries, London, England, January 1955.
Four for Whistler: An Exhibition by the Pupils of James McNeill Whistler, Parkin Gallery, London, England, April 26–May 31, 1972, no. 52.
The Aesthetic Movement and Cult of Japan, The Fine Art Society, London, England, October 3–27, 1972. [exh. cat.]
American Painting, Davis & Long Company, Inc., New York, New York, October 15–November 2, 1974. [exh. cat.]
Puvis de Chavannes and the Modern Tradition, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada, October 24–November 30, 1975. [exh. cat.]
Exhibition, Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, Virginia, June 1975.
La Femme, American Art: Images of Beauty (1880–1917), Grand Central Art Galleries, Inc., New York, New York, October 26–December 10, 1983. [exh. cat.]
La Femme, The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, Tennessee, November 10, 1984–January 13, 1985.
A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–June 21, 1987. [exh. cat.]
Face to Face: Portraits from the Collections of Terra Museum of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 8, 1994–April 2, 1995.
American Treasures: Chase, Whistler, and the Prendergasts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 26, 1996–January 5, 1997.
Un regard américain sur Paris (An American Glance at Paris), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 11–October 31, 1997.
Visages de l'Amérique: de George Washington à Marilyn Monroe (Faces of America: From George Washington to Marilyn Monroe), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2004. [exh. cat.]
Twarze Ameryki: Portrety z kolekcji Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940 (Faces of America: Portraits from the collection of the Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France and Miedzynarodowe Centrum Kultury (International Cultural Center), Cracow, Poland (organizers). Venue: International Cultural Center, Cracow, Poland, February 15–May 7, 2006. [exh. cat.]
Portrait of a Lady : peintures et photographies américaines en France, 1870–1915 (Portrait of a Lady: American Paintings and Photographs in France, 1870–1915), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France and Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France (organizers). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France, April 1–July 14, 2008; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France, September 25, 2008–January 5, 2009. [exh. cat.]
Hamel, Maurice. "Les Salons de 1904, Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts." Les Arts 29 (May 1904): 12–23. Text p. 16; ill. p. 19.
Athenaeum (May 7, 1904): 598. Text p. 598.
An Illustrated Catalog of the Whistler Memorial Exhibition. (exh. cat., New Gallery). London, England: New Gallery, 1905. Ill. p. 99.
Pennell, Elizabeth Robins and Joseph Pennell. The Life of James McNeill Whistler. 2 vols. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1908. Vol. 2: text pp. 157–58, 187, 279.
Sickert, Bernhard. Whistler. London, England: Duckworth & Company, 1908. Text pp. 34-35, 39–40, no. 127, p. 168.
Pennell, Elizabeth Robins and Joseph Pennell. The Life of James McNeill Whistler. 2 vols. Rev. ed. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1911. Vol. 1: text pp. 321–22. Vol. 2: ill. p. 19.
Cary, Elisabeth Luther. The Works of James McNeill Whistler. New York: Moffat Yard & Company, 1913. Text p. 215.
Pousette-Dart, Nathaniel. James McNeill Whistler. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1924. Ill. n.p.
Rothenstein, William. Men and Memories: Recollections of William Rothenstein. 3 Vol. London, England: Faber & Faber Ltd., 1931–1939. Text pp. 79–80.
Sutton, Denys. Nocturne: The Art of James McNeill Whistler. London, England: Country Life, Ltd., 1963. Text p. 128.
The Aesthetic Movement and Cult of Japan. (exh. cat., The Fine Art Society). London, England: The Fine Art Society, 1972. Ill. no. 67, p. 19.
Dunstan, Bernard. "Whistler Portrait of Miss Louise Kinsella." The Artist 84 (January 1973): 158.
American Painting. (exh. cat., Davis & Long Company, Inc.). New York: Davis & Long Company, Inc., 1974. Ill. no. 34 (color).
Gathorne-Hardy, Robert, ed. Ottoline at Garsington: Memoirs of Lady Ottoline Morrell 1915–1918. London, England: Faber, 1974. Text p. 264.
Wattenmaker, Richard J. Puvis de Chavannes and the Modern Tradition. (exh. cat., Art Gallery of Ontario). Toronto, Canada: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1975. Ill. pp. 151–52.
Bulletin of Chrysler Museum at Norfolk 4:6 (June 1975): n.p. Ill. n.p.
Dunstan, Bernard. Painting Techniques of the Impressionists. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1976. Ill. p. 99.
Young, Andrew McLaren, Margaret F. MacDonald, and Robin Spencer with the assistance of Hamish Miles. The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1980. No. 420, p. 187; pl. 258 (black & white).
New York Times (October 23, 1983). Ill. (black & white).
Nochlin, Linda. Woman. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Evanston, Illinois: Terra Museum of American Art, 1984. Text p. 7; ill. no. 19, p. 21 (color).
Atkinson, D. Scott et al. A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art. Edited by Terry A. Neff. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1987. Pl. T-41, p. 150 (color).
Spencer, Robin, ed. Whistler: A Retrospective. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1989. Text p. 344; pl. 101, p. 312 (color).
Reymond, Nathalie. Un regard américain sur Paris (An American Glance at Paris). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1997. Text p. 99; ill. p. 96 (color).
Kennedy, Elizabeth and Sophie Lévy. Faces of America: Portraits of the Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, 1770–1940. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004. Text pp. 17, 34 (checklist); ill. p. 55 (color).
Kennedy, Elizabeth and Sophie Lévy. Visages de l'Amérique: le portrait dans la collection de la Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1770–1940. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004. Text pp. 17, 34 (checklist); ill. p. 55 (color).
Lévy, Sophie, et al. Twarze Ameryki: Portrety z kolekcji Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940/Faces of America: Portraits from the collection of the Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940. (exh. cat. International Cultural Center). Cracow, Poland: International Cultural Center, 2006. Text pp. 24–25, 78; ill. p. 79 (color).
Lecomte, Vanessa, editor. Portrait of a Lady : peinture et photographies américains (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny and Musée des beaux-arts de Bordeaux). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2008. Text (checklist) p. 95.
Athenaeum (May 7, 1904): 598. Text p. 598.
An Illustrated Catalog of the Whistler Memorial Exhibition. (exh. cat., New Gallery). London, England: New Gallery, 1905. Ill. p. 99.
Pennell, Elizabeth Robins and Joseph Pennell. The Life of James McNeill Whistler. 2 vols. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1908. Vol. 2: text pp. 157–58, 187, 279.
Sickert, Bernhard. Whistler. London, England: Duckworth & Company, 1908. Text pp. 34-35, 39–40, no. 127, p. 168.
Pennell, Elizabeth Robins and Joseph Pennell. The Life of James McNeill Whistler. 2 vols. Rev. ed. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1911. Vol. 1: text pp. 321–22. Vol. 2: ill. p. 19.
Cary, Elisabeth Luther. The Works of James McNeill Whistler. New York: Moffat Yard & Company, 1913. Text p. 215.
Pousette-Dart, Nathaniel. James McNeill Whistler. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1924. Ill. n.p.
Rothenstein, William. Men and Memories: Recollections of William Rothenstein. 3 Vol. London, England: Faber & Faber Ltd., 1931–1939. Text pp. 79–80.
Sutton, Denys. Nocturne: The Art of James McNeill Whistler. London, England: Country Life, Ltd., 1963. Text p. 128.
The Aesthetic Movement and Cult of Japan. (exh. cat., The Fine Art Society). London, England: The Fine Art Society, 1972. Ill. no. 67, p. 19.
Dunstan, Bernard. "Whistler Portrait of Miss Louise Kinsella." The Artist 84 (January 1973): 158.
American Painting. (exh. cat., Davis & Long Company, Inc.). New York: Davis & Long Company, Inc., 1974. Ill. no. 34 (color).
Gathorne-Hardy, Robert, ed. Ottoline at Garsington: Memoirs of Lady Ottoline Morrell 1915–1918. London, England: Faber, 1974. Text p. 264.
Wattenmaker, Richard J. Puvis de Chavannes and the Modern Tradition. (exh. cat., Art Gallery of Ontario). Toronto, Canada: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1975. Ill. pp. 151–52.
Bulletin of Chrysler Museum at Norfolk 4:6 (June 1975): n.p. Ill. n.p.
Dunstan, Bernard. Painting Techniques of the Impressionists. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1976. Ill. p. 99.
Young, Andrew McLaren, Margaret F. MacDonald, and Robin Spencer with the assistance of Hamish Miles. The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1980. No. 420, p. 187; pl. 258 (black & white).
New York Times (October 23, 1983). Ill. (black & white).
Nochlin, Linda. Woman. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Evanston, Illinois: Terra Museum of American Art, 1984. Text p. 7; ill. no. 19, p. 21 (color).
Atkinson, D. Scott et al. A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art. Edited by Terry A. Neff. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1987. Pl. T-41, p. 150 (color).
Spencer, Robin, ed. Whistler: A Retrospective. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1989. Text p. 344; pl. 101, p. 312 (color).
Reymond, Nathalie. Un regard américain sur Paris (An American Glance at Paris). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1997. Text p. 99; ill. p. 96 (color).
Kennedy, Elizabeth and Sophie Lévy. Faces of America: Portraits of the Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, 1770–1940. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004. Text pp. 17, 34 (checklist); ill. p. 55 (color).
Kennedy, Elizabeth and Sophie Lévy. Visages de l'Amérique: le portrait dans la collection de la Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1770–1940. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004. Text pp. 17, 34 (checklist); ill. p. 55 (color).
Lévy, Sophie, et al. Twarze Ameryki: Portrety z kolekcji Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940/Faces of America: Portraits from the collection of the Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940. (exh. cat. International Cultural Center). Cracow, Poland: International Cultural Center, 2006. Text pp. 24–25, 78; ill. p. 79 (color).
Lecomte, Vanessa, editor. Portrait of a Lady : peinture et photographies américains (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny and Musée des beaux-arts de Bordeaux). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2008. Text (checklist) p. 95.