Detail from The Canal, Amsterdam, 1889, James McNeill Whistler, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

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M.1132
(a) Monogram 'VR'; (b) Address to Queen Victoria; (c) Royal Coat of Arms

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1887
Collection: Whereabouts Unknown
Accession Number: none
Medium: ink and watercolour
Support: unknown
Size: unknown
Signature: p. 2, butterfly; p. 10, 'James. McNeill. Whistler'
Inscription: p. 1, 'VR /1887'; p. 2, 'To the Queen's most excellent Majesty. / The humble and dutiful Memorial of the undersigned in behalf of a Society of Your Majesty's faithful Subjects, being Artists, and Patrons and Well-wishers of the Arts and Artists of Your Majesty's Kingdom.'; pp. 3-9, text; p. 10, Royal coat of arms with motto 'HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE'
print

(a) Monogram 'VR'; (b) Address to Queen Victoria; (c) Royal Coat of Arms

Provenance

  • 1887: designed and illustrated by Whistler, on behalf of the Society of British Artists, on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Jubilee;
  • 1887: it was presented to the Queen, on behalf of Whistler and the Society of British Artists, by the Secretary of State, Henry Matthews (1868-1874), in July 1887, and passed to the Royal Collection, Windsor;
  • By 1994: not located.

It was still said to be in the Royal Collection, Windsor, in 1921. 1

Exhibitions

It was not, as far as is known, exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.

Notes:

1: Pennell, Elizabeth Robins and Pennell, Joseph, 'Whistler as Decorator', Century Magazine, vol. 83, February 1912, pp. 500-13, at p. 510.

Last updated: 21st February 2021 by Margaret