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

 

M.1549
Butterfly for 'Noblesse abuse!'

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1898/1899
Collection: Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin, TX
Accession Number: Manuscript Collection MS-4481
Medium: pen, black ink and blue crayon
Support: white wove paper
Size: 311 x 197 mm (12 1/4 x 7 3/4")
Signature: butterfly
Inscription: 'Noblesse abuse'

Butterfly for 'Noblesse abuse!'

Composition

Butterfly for ‘Noblesse abuse!’, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin, TX
Butterfly for ‘Noblesse abuse!’, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin, TX
"Noblesse abuse!", Eden versus Whistler: The Baronet and the Butterfly, Glasgow University Library
"Noblesse abuse!", Eden versus Whistler: The Baronet and the Butterfly, Glasgow University Library

A different butterfly, with a short wriggly tail, left curving antennae and large shaded wings, was published in Whistler 1899 (F)[more] .

Technique

A butterfly drawn with wavering lines in pen and ink. There are also some blue crayon marks.

Conservation History

There is a hole in the paper and an uneven edge at left.

Last updated: 19th March 2021 by Margaret