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

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M.1262
r. and v.: Butterfly

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1890/1892
Collection: Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Accession Number: 2006685421
Medium: r.: pen and dark brown ink; v.: pen and purple ink
Support: off-white card, with printed butterfly on small rectangle, 25 x 22 mm (1 x 7/8") of paper cut from a book (Whistler 1890), stuck to it
Size: 5 11/16-5 13/16 x 4 5/16" (145-148 x 109 mm)
Signature: r. and v.: butterfly
Inscription: 'Top No 2/ Page 292/ size'
print

r. and v.: Butterfly

Description

r.: Butterfly, Library of Congress
r.: Butterfly, Library of Congress
v.: Butterfly, Library of Congress
v.: Butterfly, Library of Congress

The butterflies derive from Whistler's monogram 'JW', with, in addition, a barbed tail. They are designs for Whistler 1892 [more]. A cut-out butterfly from the first edition of The Gentle Art of Making Enemies is stuck on the recto. The butterfly on the verso is crossed out.

Last updated: 19th March 2021 by Margaret