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

 

Annabel Lee

Annabel Lee dates from between 1869 and 1877, and was reworked and rubbed down many years later. 1

1868: The composition relates to the series of 'Six Projects' (really five projects), such as Variations in Blue and Green [YMSM 084], where figures are posed in front of railings against a background of sea and sky.


                Sketch for 'Annabel Lee', The Hunterian
Sketch for 'Annabel Lee', The Hunterian

                Annabel Lee, The Hunterian
Annabel Lee, The Hunterian

1868/1877: A small oil, Sketch for 'Annabel Lee' [YMSM 080], may have preceded Annabel Lee [YMSM 079], or been based upon it. The dates of both paintings are difficult to establish, partly due to the condition of Annabel Lee.

1869: Possibly commissioned by William Graham (1841-1910)

1869/1870: Whistler at first called it a 'Blue Girl' and wrote to a prospective purchaser, William Grapel (1822-1887), 'I wish indeed that the little Blue Girl were yours - for you like it and I should be much gratified to see myself on your walls ... This blue picture is a commission though - tant pis! [from] comparatively a stranger.' 2

1871: It was left unfinished, as Whistler's mother, Anna Matilda Whistler (1804-1881), explained, when the model fell ill:

'A lovely study ordered two years ago by a wealthy MP. was promised in August. A beautiful young girl of 15 had posed for it, she was a novice & soon wearied standing, & pleaded illness, then her brother in play with her as she was at home hurt her seriously, & she had convulsions . . . if the youthful Maggie had not failed Jemie as a model for "The girl in blue on the sea shore" which I trust he may yet finish for Mr. Grahame he would have had no time for my Portrait.' 3

1874: William Graham, MP, wrote on 4 April suggesting that Whistler should give him 'the charming little Annabel Lee', whether it was finished or not. 4

1877: Whistler stated that he had 'tried to complete it many times and has only ruined it':

'There has been always a miserable fatality about the little picture I certainly meant you to have long ago - Curiously unable to satisfy myself I have over and over again attempted to complete the work and only by degrees brought about its destruction.' 5

                Annabel Lee, The Hunterian
Annabel Lee, The Hunterian

1900: Annabel Lee was rubbed down for repainting around the turn of the century, according to Harold Wright (1885-1961), probably on the basis of information from Whistler's sister-in-law, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958). 6

Notes:

1: Dated to 'late 1860s' in YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 79).

2: [1869/1870], GUW #01792, formerly dated [1869/1873]; a reference to a 'Venus' suggests the narrower date.

3: A. M. Whistler to C. Palmer, 3-4 November 1871, GUW #10071. The resulting portrait was, of course, Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother [YMSM 101].

4: W. Graham to Whistler, 4 April 1874, GUW #01782.

5: Whistler to W. Graham, [23/30 July 1877], GUW #01784.

6: Label on verso written by H. Wright, initialled by Miss R. Birnie Philip.

Last updated: 1st November 2020 by Margaret