Oil paint on canvas
Tate Collection
Works with images
General Collection
Collection
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/james-abbott-mcneill-whistler-598" aria-label="More by James Abbott McNeill Whistler" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">James Abbott McNeill Whistler</a>
Miss Agnes Mary Alexander
Bequeathed by W.C. Alexander 1950
actions: postures and motions
adults
Alexander, Agnes Mary
clothing and personal items
flower
hat
individuals: female
named individuals
objects
people
plants and flowers
portraits
standing
woman
<p>This portrait of Agnes Mary (‘May’) Alexander was commissioned by her father WC Alexander, the appreciative purchaser of Whistler’s very first Nocturne, <i>Nocturne: Blue and Silver - Chelsea</i>, hanging nearby. In painting May, Whistler followed a very different path to the one he took when painting her younger sister Cicely, also on display in this room. More simply and starkly conceived, May emerges out of rich shadows, something Whistler copied from the Spanish old master painter Velásquez. The tightly restricted harmony of colours is raised only for the group of yellow flowers.</p><p><em>Gallery label, February 2010</em></p>
painting oil paint canvas
1 May 2009 – 2 December 2010
2010-12-02
1 May 2009 – 2 December 2010
2010-12-02
2009-05-01
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2009-05-01
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
Collection based display
Miss Agnes Mary Alexander
support: 1924 × 1016 mm
Bequeathed by W.C. Alexander 1950
<p>This portrait of Agnes Mary (‘May’) Alexander was commissioned by her father WC Alexander, the appreciative purchaser of Whistler’s very first Nocturne, <i>Nocturne: Blue and Silver - Chelsea</i>, hanging nearby.  In painting May, Whistler followed a very different path to the one he took when painting her younger sister Cicely, also on display in this room.  More simply and starkly conceived, May emerges out of rich shadows, something Whistler copied from the Spanish old master painter Velásquez.  The tightly restricted harmony of colours is raised only for the group of yellow flowers.
<br/></p>

Display caption
2010-02-18T00:00:00
display-caption
DISPLAY_CAPTION
actions: postures and motions adults Alexander, Agnes Mary clothing and personal items flower hat individuals: female named individuals objects people plants and flowers portraits standing woman