(For fans of great art and Tony Dawson, we have something for you!-The Eds,)
This canvas of an old lady in profile
was painted in London in about 1871
and became one of the most famous
American portraits of modern times.
The artist, described as larger than life,
pursued the poetry of sight while his
contemporaries, Manet and Monet,
devoted their energies to capturing light.
The portrait of Anna only came into being
because the young girl who had been posing
for a lucrative society portrait ran away.
The austere nature of the canvas, depicting
an old woman in Puritan bonnet and dress,
the minimalist background of a Chelsea
studio with no colours other than black,
white, and grey did not impress the critics.
Probably because Victorian taste preferred
riots of colour, one went so far as to say
it wasn’t a picture. I doubt Whistler’s Mother,
as the panting is generally known, would have
agreed as she rested her feet on her stool.
Tony Dawson, 19 May 2026
(Header images is of the poet)
Saragun Springs 