Harmony in Yellow and Gold: The Gold Girl—Connie Gilchrist

James McNeill Whistler

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Constance Macdonald Gilchrist (1865-1946), popularly known as "the original Gaiety Girl," had a successful career on the London stage in light comedy and vaudeville. Whistler posed her in his studio as she appeared on the stage of the Gaiety Theatre in the skipping-rope dance. In addition to being a portrtait of the popular young dancer, the painting is an experiment in design and color, presenting a visual dialogue between solid forms and flat, decorative patterns.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art