James McNeill Whistler, Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl, 1861-62, oil on canvas. This was W

James McNeill Whistler, Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl, 1861-62, oil on canvas.
This was Whistlers first painting which drew major attention from the art world. It depicts his mistress and business manager Joanna Hiffernan as an innocent young woman clad in pure white. At the time this image raised some eyebrows in the artistic community as individuals and critics clambered to imbue Whistlers portrait with symbolism relating to ideas of lust and sexual awakening. However Whistler intended this portrait to be a simple study in colour. This reflects changing attitudes at this time and the emergence of the concept of ‘Art for Arts Sake’.