Artist and art teacher Áine Andrews returns with another series of lectures on Famous Paintings and their Hidden Histories. For the sixth installment of this six part lecture series, Áine will focus on Symphony in White, No. 2: The Little White Girl, by James McNeill Whistler, recounting its history, as well as that of the artist and his story.

Whistler’s painting of Joanna Hiffernan has a meditative, dreamy appearance. This young Irish woman is depicted in a beautifully painted white dress, with delicate pink flowers, leaning against the mantelpiece in the house she shared with the American born artist. The work hints at Whistler’s appreciation of Japanese art and culture with the woman captured in a moment of deep contemplation.