Its real title is Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1. Whistler insisted the painting was about color and form, not about his mother. The model was indeed Anna Whistler, who stood in when another model cancelled; she was too tired to stand, so he painted her seated.

The French state bought it in 1891. During the Great Depression it toured the United States and became an icon of American motherhood, and in 1934 it appeared on a US postage stamp.