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

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M.1396
Writing on the Wall

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1893/1898
Collection: Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Accession Number: F1902.113a-c
Medium: chalk and pastel
Support: brown wove paper laid down on card with stamp of W. Holland, 12 Sherwood Street, Golden Square, W.
Size: 10 13/16 x 7" (274 x 178 mm)
Signature: butterfly
Inscription: none
print

Writing on the Wall

Writing on the Wall may date from 1893/1898. It was, however, seen in Whistler's studio in 1901, bought by Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) in 1903, left with Whistler 'to work on', and finally delivered after Whistler's death. 1

Writing on the Wall, Freer Gallery of Art
Writing on the Wall, Freer Gallery of Art

It was catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1396).

Notes:

1: Records in GUL NB3, pp. 169-70; memo, 25 August 1902, Freer Gallery of Art; W. Marchant to Freer, 30 July 1903, FGA.

Last updated: 6th March 2021 by Margaret