symphony white white girl symphony white known white girl painting work shows woman figure standing white polar bear skin white curtain white lily hand colour scheme painting entirely white model artist mistress painting originally called white girl later started calling symphony white referring work abstract terms intended emphasise art art sake philosophy created painting winter later returned alterations rejected salon paris eventually accepted salon des exhibition featured famous sur works gained lot attention shows clearly influence recently come contact painting interpreted later art critics innocence loss religious allusion virgin mary artist model born united_states son railway engineer father relocated family saint_petersburg russia james received training painting stay england returned america attend west point way europe determined painting settled paris moved london spend remainder life met members profound influence london met model lover relationship referred marriage benefit clergy model painting named london lived begun finished shows woman men balcony overlooking river according woman portrayed prostitute supposedly strong influence brother law refused dinner invitation winter dominant presence household creation reception started working white girl shortly december intention submitting prestigious annual exhibition spite bouts illness finished painting april letter early described woman beautiful white dress standing window filters light transparent white curtain figure receives strong light right picture barring red hair gorgeous mass brilliant white submitted painting academy according expected rejected point previous year painting caused minor scandal showed horse woman resting ground nearby model named noted period soon rumoured actually notorious london painting reminiscent judges wary admitting submitted academy accepted painting exhibited small london instead shown title woman white reference novel popular success time book tale romance intrigue double identity considered bit sensation time publication apparently believed painting referred novel review complained painting correspond character novel write letter asserting gallery chose title consulting adding intention whatsoever illustrating novel painting simply represents girl dressed white standing white curtain year tried painting exhibited salon paris official art exhibition des rejected instead accepted alternative salon des exhibition rejects opened weeks official salon salon des exhibition sur caused scandal attention given greater controversy surrounding paintings described novel reception painting received favourable largely rejection experienced london paris greatly admired colleagues friends painter poet art critic saw tradition favourable certain french critics saw english pre trend somewhat eccentric painting remained family sold artist nephew art collector family gave gift washington composition interpretation especially later career resented idea paintings meaning seen canvas known central proponent art art sake philosophy comment white girl denying connection novel woman white earliest painting simply represents girl dressed white standing white curtain english critics saw painting illustration tended favourable french colleagues saw visionary poetic fantasy english critic referring collins novel called white girl incomplete paintings met woman white painting critics disappointed lack resemblance novel heroine read novel resented comparison years later began referring painting symphony white french critic called time exhibition paris musical analogy emphasised philosophy composition central thing subject matter title probably inspired poem entirely content realism painting displayed original form trait blamed influence time later reworked spiritual expression symphony begun met pre influence clear painting early experiment white white woman standing white dress white background colour scheme subject return later paintings given titles symphony white panel long slender model pose shape clothes emphasise vertical nature painting woman bold direct gaze viewer features highly art critic sees portraits charm combination craft skills radical landscapes lacked resented attempts meaning art later critics 19th century french art critic saw painting symbols lost innocence theme picked later critics art historian sees painting exercise finds enigmatic expressive erotic image points contrasts presented imagery white lily representing innocence fierce animal head loss innocence coming perspective literary criticism sees allusions madonna religious art work woman feet cloud virgin seen standing bear crushed heel
Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl