JAMES ABBOTT McNEILL WHISTLER (1834-190) PORTRAIT OF MRS. F. R. LEYLAND (SYMPHONY IN FLESH COLOR AND PINK) Canvas, 36 1/2 inches by 82 1/2 inches

PORTRAIT of Mrs. Leyland, wife of Frederick Leyland, shipowner of Liverpool. Painted in 1873. Illustrated in Pennell's book on Whistler. "In no other portrait did Whistler attempt a scheme of color at once so sumptuous and so delicate. Mrs. Leyland remembered days when, at the end of the pose, the portrait looked as if it needed only a few hour's work. But in the morning she would find it rubbed out and all the work to be done again. The portrait was never finished, and yet t could not be lovelier. It was a problem,, not of luminous dark, but of luminous light, and the accessories have not been suppressed. The matting on the floor, the dado, and the spray of almond blossoms are more elaborately carried out than the detail of any other portrait." Pennell. The portrait remained in the possession of Mrs. Leyland until her death, when it was sold to Mr. Frick by her niece. It is mentioned in all the books that have been written on Whistler and his work, and was exhibited at the Memorial Show in London. 169 OW