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

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M.1533
Portrait of Whistler

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1898/1900
Collection: Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Accession Number: 96511326
Medium: pen and brown ink
Support: cream laid paper
Size: 4 7/16 x 3 7/16" (112 x 88 mm)
Signature: butterfly
Inscription: r.: draft of a letter to a newspaper editor signed 'J. McNeill Whistler.', and, in unknown hands, calculations, and '102-3190/ 003226-1. 1/ 02-84-048.58/ 02-84-479.1'
print

Portrait of Whistler

Portrait of Whistler probably dates from 1898/1900, but could date from earlier.

It is drawn on the verso of the draft of a letter to a newspaper editor, possibly dating from May 1898. 1

Portrait of Whistler, Library of Congress
Portrait of Whistler, Library of Congress

It is related to Whistler's appearance in Gold and Brown [YMSM 462], which is dated 1896/1898 and was exhibited in the Exhibition of International Art, International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, Knightsbridge, London, 1898.

The drawing was owned by Carmen Rossi (b. ca 1878 who modelled for Whistler from 1894 on, and was proprietess of the Académie Carmen 1898-1901.

The drawing is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1533) dated 1898/1900.

Notes:

1: The partial (torn) draft reads: '[Whis]tler's acknowledgements // ... [Dai]ly Mail - / ...[par]alised with gratitude / ... [a]t the delicacy and kind / ... you chew the food you / ... Readers - Of course you / …Pray receive my compliments J. McNeill Whistler.' GUW #09607. However, it is possible that the draft dates from earlier or later. It is possible, for instance, that it dates from 10 April 1897, when Whistler sent E. G. Kennedy a cutting from the Daily Mail (GUW #09762).

Last updated: 6th March 2021 by Margaret