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