The date and authorship of this Sketch of a Man in Evening Dress are difficult to establish. It has been suggested that it dated from the mid-1880s. 1

Sketch of a Man in Evening Dress, Ashmolean Museum

The composition is simple and could possibly, giving it the benefit of the doubt, be called 'Whistlerian', and have been influenced by his work. It is not finished, and it is not very like Whistler's work in colour or technique. The provenance of the painting before 1945 is unknown, so it may date from after Whistler's death.