Whistler's Mother

American  

noun

1. (formal name,Arrangement in Gray and Black No. 1: Portrait of the Artist's Mother ) a painting (1871) by James McNeill Whistler.

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Whistler's Mother Cultural  

1. The popular title of a painting, Arrangement in Grey and Black Number 1, by James Whistler, which depicts his mother in profile, dressed in black, and seated on a straight chair.

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Example Sentences

The work known as “Whistler’s Mother” may have endured in the public consciousness, but the American-born, London-based painter James McNeill Whistler’s frequent subject for about 20 years was his red-haired partner, Joanna Hiffernan, whom he often depicted in white — a resonant image in Victorian culture.

From New York Times

In her caption, Beckinsale joked that a person who made it into the background of the pic is the "ghost of Whistler's mother," referencing the subject of the 1871 painting by American painter James McNeil.

From Fox News

An eccentric, accident-prone British art caretaker wreaks havoc at the U.S. unveiling of Whistler’s Mother.

From Los Angeles Times

Her makeup artist Lazarus Baptiste snapped a picture of the scene and describes the decisive moment as King sitting solemnly like “Whistler’s Mother” with Kelly towering over her with his arm outstretched like a grandiose “Hamlet holding Yorick’s skull.”

From Washington Post

Her exposed flesh swiftly went viral, with online pranksters adding it to images of everything from the Statue of Liberty to Whistler's Mother.

From BBC