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

 

YMSM 425
Arrangement in Flesh Colour and Brown: Portrait of Arthur J. Eddy

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1894
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number: 1931.501
Medium: oil
Support: canvas
Size: 209.9 x 92.4 cm (82 5/8 x 36 3/8")
Signature: butterfly
Inscription: none
Frame: Portrait Whistler, American, 1894/1895

Arrangement in Flesh Colour and Brown: Portrait of Arthur J. Eddy

Provenance

  • 1894: bought by Arthur Jerome Eddy (1859-1920) , Chicago;
  • 1920: bequeathed to his widow, Lucy Crapo Orrell Eddy (1863-1931) , and their son, Jerome Orrell Eddy (1891-1951) , Chicago;
  • 1931: given by them to the Art Institute of Chicago, Arthur J. Eddy Memorial Collection.

Eddy paid Whistler a total of 350 guineas in two instalments. 1 Whistler thanked him, writing:

'It was very kind and nice of you to send me your cheque - which I received all right - and many thanks -

You have been charming in all your relations with me - and "on ne peut plus grand Seigneur"!' 2

On 4 October 1895 Eddy offered to go to Paris if Whistler wanted to paint on the portrait again. 3

Exhibitions

  • 1904: 73rd Annual Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1904 (cat. no. 31) as 'An Arrangement in Flesh Color and Brown'.
  • 1904: Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler, Copley Society, Boston, 1904 (cat. no. 18) as 'An Arrangement in Flesh Color and Brown'.
Whistler Memorial Exhibition, Boston, 1904, photograph, GUL Whistler PH6/21
Whistler Memorial Exhibition, Boston, 1904, photograph, GUL Whistler PH6/21

It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime. The photograph above shows it on exhibition in Boston in 1904.

Notes:

1: 15 March 1895; 3 December 1897, GUW #01028.

2: [25/31 March 1895], GUW #01023.

3: GUW #01025.

Last updated: 27th April 2021 by Margaret