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

 

M.1507
Admiral Nelson -'Boarded at last!'

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1897
Collection: Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Accession Number: 2006685410
Medium: pencil
Support: beige laid paper, black mourning edges, watermark 'B' in a shield, f.s.
Size: 8 13/16 x 6 15/16" (224 x 177 mm)
Signature: butterfly added for publication
Inscription: letter from Whistler to E. R. & J. Pennell; '8-89-806.44/ C.E.274.' in unknown hand; v.: 'June 97' in unknown hand

Admiral Nelson -'Boarded at last!'

Technique

Admiral Nelson -'Boarded at last!', Library of Congress
Admiral Nelson -'Boarded at last!', Library of Congress

According to the Library of Congress, 'The arrangements in Trafalgar Square delighted Whistler, and Joseph Pennell was so delighted with Whistler's sketch that he sent it to The Daily Chronicle, in which paper it was printed, June 18, 1897, Whistler making a few changes and signing it with his butterfly.' 1

'Mr Whistler on the Jubilee Stands', Daily Chronicle, 18 June 1897
'Mr Whistler on the Jubilee Stands', Daily Chronicle, 18 June 1897

By the time it was published Whistler had indeed added several details, such as supports for the stands on the right, shadows at the bottom of the stands, and a butterfly with a long barbed tail at right. The text under the sketch had been removed, and 'London in her glory' was added at upper right, while the signs at left and right were altered, that at left now reading 'Maple Apply' and at right, 'STEVENS / contractor'. 2

Conservation History

There are both vertical and horizontal folds in the sheet. The paper has darkened and has a slight beige tone.

Notes:

1: The Joseph and Elizabeth Robins Pennell Collection of Whistleriana, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 1921 (cat. no. 274).

2: Daily Chronicle, London, 18 June 1897, as 'Mr Whistler on the Jubilee Stands'.

Last updated: 6th March 2021 by Margaret