The Artist and his Model: Whistler and Joanna Heffernan
May 18, 2026 6:30 pm
Art Society Lecture
The Artist and his Model: Whistler and Joanna Heffernan
The Artist and his Model: Whistler and Joanna Heffernan
Hunter Theatre
Whistler’s painting, Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl (1862) is both monumental and modern. Though its scale recalls grand portraits, Whistler’s innovative technique and overall treatment of the subject resist straightforward interpretation. In this presentation we will examine Joanna Hiffernan’s role in his art and life. Was she simply his model and lover? Or could she have been an essential collaborator who influenced his artistic vision, assisting him in his development of a new pictorial language?
Joanne Rhymer
Since completing an MA at University College London (UCL) in the History of Art: Modernism and the Politics of Representation (1997), Jo was employed in various roles at the National Gallery. In a freelance capacity, she has worked for galleries and institutions including the Tate, the Hayward Gallery, Sotheby’s Institute of Art and the National Portrait Gallery, as well as leading group excursions in the UK and abroad. She is currently a Panel Tutor for the Institute of Continuing Education at the University of Cambridge and teaches for the Wallace Collection and the V&A as well as a range of private institutions. Her areas of specialism include 19th-century and early 20th-century French art, and interests include the visual skills involved in sustained viewing of paintings.
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