Titles

Only one title has been suggested:

• 'Little Maud Hamerton' (1886/1887, Whistler). 1
• 'Little Maud Hamerton' (1980, YMSM). 2

Description

A portrait of a girl.

Sitter

Alice Maud Hamerton (b.1882) was the niece of Whistler's chief model, Maud Franklin (1857-1939). 3 Maud Franklin was extremely fond of young Maud, the daughter of a sister who died shortly after her birth.

The name might suggest a relationship to the artist and critic, Philip Gilbert Hamerton (1834-1894), but none of his children was called Maud.

There are a number of unidentified sitters for portraits dating between 1882 and 1887, including Study in Brown [YMSM 313], Portrait of a child [YMSM 321a], and another, Portrait of a child [y321b], that has not been located. All are difficult to date, and the age of the children is uncertain.

Portrait of a child, Colby College Museum of Art

Portrait of a child [YMSM 321a] appears to show a very young child, and is the most likely candidate, since the others appear to show slightly older girls.