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

 

M.0324
In the Studio

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1865
Collection: Detroit Institute of Arts
Accession Number: 51.223
Medium: watercolour, gouache and chalk
Support: tan wove paper laid down on board
Size: 11 5/16 x 7 1/4" (288 x 185 mm)
Signature: none
Inscription: v: 'J. M. Whistler' in an unknown hand; on verso of card, 'S9593 | 327 Whistler / Green gold' in an unknown hand

In the Studio

Composition

In the Studio, Detroit Institute Of Arts
In the Studio, Detroit Institute Of Arts
The Artist's Studio, Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane
The Artist's Studio, Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane
Whistler in his Studio, Art Institute of Chicago
Whistler in his Studio, Art Institute of Chicago

This may be a preliminary study, like the two oils The Artist's Studio [YMSM 062] and The Artist in his Studio (Whistler in his Studio) [YMSM 063], for a group portrait that was never completed.

Frame

It is possible that the note on the verso, 'Whistler/ Green gold' (written in an unknown hand) related to a proposed frame. At the Dowdeswell exhibitions of 1884 and 1886, Whistler chose frames in several shades of gold to match the works on show.

Last updated: 25th February 2021 by Margaret