Japanese lady decorating a fan probably dates from 1872. On 20 March 1872 Sir Henry Cole commissioned Whistler to design a figure of 'a Japanese art worker' for an arch in South Kensington Museum. 1 The drawing on the recto is one of several possible ideas for the figure.

Japanese lady decorating a fan, Cleveland Museum of Art

The drawing on the recto is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 460). That on the verso was not included in the catalogue in 1995.

The drawing on the verso is one of several similar studies that include r.: A study of a draped female figure; v.: Design [M.0377],Draped female figure [M.0378] and The Dancing Girl [M.0379]. These have been dated 1870/1873.