Focus on this artwork and explain the Background.
James McNeill Whistler was born in the United States in 1834, the son of George Washington Whistler, a railway engineer. In 1843, his father relocated the family to Saint Petersburg, Russia, where James received training in painting. After a stay in England, he returned to America to attend the US Military Academy at West Point in 1851. In 1855, he made his way back to Europe, determined to dedicate himself to painting. Here he settled in Paris at first, but in 1859 moved to London, where he would spend most of the remainder of his life. There he met Dante Gabriel Rossetti and other members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, who would have a profound influence on Whistler.It was also in London that Whistler met Joanna Heffernan, the model who would become his lover. By 1865, Whistler had already used her as a model for other paintings, among these Symphony in White, No. 1 and Symphony in White, No. 2. Heffernan supposedly had a strong influence over Whistler; his brother-in-law Francis Seymour Haden refused a dinner invitation in the winter of 1863–64 due to her dominant presence in the household. In January 1864, Whistler's mother Anna – later depicted in the painting Arrangement in Grey and Black – arrived to stay with her son in London. As a result, Heffernan had to move out of the apartment, and only visited as a model. Still, Heffernan's presence displeased Whistler's mother, and his relationship with both women became strained.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti George Washington Whistler United States Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood James McNeill Whistler Symphony in White, No. 1 Arrangement in Grey and Black Saint Petersburg Francis Seymour Haden London Paris Symphony in White, No. 2 US Military Academy Russia Joanna Heffernan