Provenance

• 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death and bequeathed to his ward and executrix, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958);
• 1935: given by Miss R. Birnie Philip to the University of Glasgow.

Because of the small scale and unfinished nature of this sketch, it would almost certainly have been set aside and not included in works to be sold at the time of Whistler's bankruptcy.

Exhibitions

• 1905: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905 (cat. no. 31) as 'The Artist's Niece'.

It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime. It was first shown at the Whistler Memorial Exhibition in 1905.

By the terms of Miss R. Birnie Philip's gift to the University of Glasgow in 1935, the painting cannot be lent.