Composition

Alice Butt, Private Collection

Alice Butt (2), National Gallery of Art

There are two very similar portraits of Alice Butt. It has been suggested that this is a study for Alice Butt (2) [YMSM 438], for in it the colour scheme is unresolved, although the model and her costume are almost exactly the same. It was unusual, but by no means impossible, for Whistler to paint two such similar works.

Technique

It was first underpainted in red, which shows through the washes of grey over her dress, the brown cloak, and the drier, bolder paint of the background. Her hair is dark, a mixture of brown, black, and grey. The face has obviously been much repainted and the colour applied in small spots. Whistler worked mostly with a medium-sized 1.5 cm (½") brush. The colours are warm and bright and the girl has a nervous, alert expression.

Conservation History

Alice Butt (1), repr. Duret 1904, p. 89

Alice Butt (1), Private Collection

Early reproductions show very little alteration. However, in 1960, Mrs Robb said the canvas was very thin and breaking from the stretcher on one side. 1

Frame

Unknown.