# Harmony in Green and Rose: The Music Room

**James McNeill Whistler** (American, 1834–1903)  
1860-1861  
Oil on canvas  
H x W: 96.3 x 71.7 cm (37 15/16 x 28 1/4 in)

Courtesy of the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, F1917.234a-b. [The museum's record](https://asia.si.edu/object/F1917.234a-b/).

## About this work

Set in the London home of Whistler's brother-in-law Seymour Haden, this painting was originally titled The Morning Call. The woman reflected in the mirror at the left is Whistler's half sister Deborah Haden. The seated girl is his niece, Annie Haden. The standing woman, Miss Isabella Boott, was connected to the Haden family by marriage. Instead of trying to create a convincing illusion of three-dimensional space, Whistler adopted a color scheme and sharply angled perspective that emphasize the flatness of the picture plane.

_Text from the National Museum of Asian Art._

James McNeill Whistler painted this in 1860-1861, aged about 26. It is now at the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, DC.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [James McNeill Whistler](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/james-mcneill-whistler)

American, 1834–1903; born in Lowell, Massachusetts; died in London

Whistler spent part of his boyhood in Russia, left West Point without graduating and trained as a painter in Paris before settling in London in 1859. He held that a picture was an arrangement of colour and form, and named his works symphonies, harmonies and nocturnes; a hostile review of one nocturne led to his 1878 libel suit against John Ruskin. He was equally committed to etching, and in his Venice plates of 1879–80 he left films of ink on the copper to suggest water and dusk.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Americans
- The artist was about 26
- Real size: about 38 × 28 in (96 × 72 cm). The 24 × 36 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Movement: [Realism](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/realism)
- Subjects: Design, Reading, Music, Interior decoration
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1814.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1814/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/harmony-in-green-and-rose-the-music-room-si-fsg-f1917-234a-b).