Whistler, James Abbott McNeill (1834-1903)
Young Girl with Cherry Blossom
c.1867–1872
Oil on canvas, 139.3 x 73.3 cm
Courtauld Institute of Art, London
This canvas is the central section of a larger decorative work commissioned by the Liverpool shipping magnate Frederick Leyland. It initially featured three young women; one of their parasols can still be seen in the upper right. James McNeill Whistler was dissatisfied with the composition and reworked it over many years, scraping off paint as he went along. In the end, he decided to destroy the painting but one of his patrons rescued this section. Whistler’s enthusiasm for Japanese art is apparent in the flat, decorative surface and the presence of a branch of cherry tree in bloom, a common motif. (Courtauld)