Girl In White, Beast On Floor

My little vacation in DC is over. Most of it had been spent indoors, at the conference, until today, when we went traipsing around the city a bit, visiting the National Gallery and the Smithsonian.

Saw Whistler's Symphony in White #1, also known as Girl In White, which is kind of weird in its way:



It's a BIG painting (84.5 in × 42.5 in), and that dead beast at her feet really jumps out at you. There seems to be a question whether that's a bear or a wolf. The Wikipedia article on the painting opens with a claim that it's a wolf, and closes with a reference to it as a bear.



Is it a wolf, or is it a bear?
No, it's a rug. So there!