Portrait Of Madame J

Art Gallery of Ontario

Portrait of Madame J (Young Woman in Black), 1883, oil on canvas, Collection of the Maryland State Archives, MSA SC 4680-10-0010. This work is one of 5 spotlit paintings in this section of the exhibition which has 5 angled walls, giving each work its own wall. Here, each of three works by McNicoll and two by Cassatt present us with an elegantly dressed woman posed indoors. In three paintings the woman is positioned on or beside a Chintz sofa or chair. This work is 80 by 64 cm hung and in portrait orientation. The work is framed by a gold-coloured wood frame which is 10 cm wide and embellished with carved rope and ribbon patterns. A slim young white woman sits forward on an upholstered chair in a tasteful interior. She rests her left elbow on the arm of the chair and gazes off to the left, thinking. The young woman is dressed in a black, long sleeve riding jacket. It has a high collar with a small decorative swatch of white fabric at the left of her neck. Her dark hair is almost completely covered by a short brimmed black hat with feathers and a thin veil which comes down to just under her lips. The veil gives her face a light greyish hue, making her face appear to be bright between the blacks of her outfit. Her lips are rosy and suggest a slight smile. The chair’s fabric is pale yellow with a floral pattern in red and dark green. Thick, long brushstrokes create the flowers and leaves of the fabric behind the woman and in a small triangle between her side and the bend of her elbow on the armrest. The wall behind her is a brownish purple of mauve and taupe hues with two horizontal lines of gold chair rail moulding on it. Hung above this and behind the top of her hat is a rectangular artwork. Against a white background it features the shape of an arch in brown and yellow which resembles the shape of a handheld fan when opened. The artist's signature is in black at the bottom right of the work. Also on display nearby is a video of a discussion in ASL between artists Rae Rezwell and Peter Owusu-Ansah about the work of McNicoll who was also d/Deaf.