Titles
Several titles have been suggested:
- 'Harmony in Blue and Gold – The Little Blue Girl' (1894, Whistler). 1
- 'Little Blue Girl' (1895, C. L. Freer). 2
- 'Blue & Gold Girl' (1897, Whistler). 3
- 'The Little Blue and Gold Girl' (1904, Copley Society, Boston). 4
- 'Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Little Blue Girl' (1980, YMSM). 5
'Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Little Blue Girl' is the preferred title.
Description
Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Little Blue Girl, Freer Gallery of Art
A figure study in vertical format. A nude young woman stands with arms raised, taking off a blue robe. Standing on the floor at right is a grey vase with a white flower and foliage. Behind the figure and vase is a low straight-back sofa with white wood frame, and behind that a blue folding screen.
Blue and Silver: Screen, with Old Battersea Bridge, The Hunterian
The screen is Blue and Silver: Screen, with Old Battersea Bridge [YMSM 139].
Sitter
Eva Victoria Carrington (1887-1979) , 'the long-legged dancing Blue Girl', was posing for Whistler in 1900, and Whistler planned to continue painting her on his return from Corsica in March 1901. 6
Rose et vert: Une étude, The Hunterian
The model may be the same as in Rose et vert: Une étude [YMSM 489].
Notes:
1: 23 November 1894, receipt in Freer Gallery Archives.
2: Freer to Whistler, 23 September 1895, GUW #01512.
3: Whistler to Freer, [24 March 1897], GUW #11571.
4: Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler, Copley Society, Boston, 1904 (cat. no. 26).
5: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 421).
6: Whistler to R. Birnie Philip, [30 October 1900], 27 January [1901] and 8 March 1901, GUW #04780, #04787, #04797.
Last updated: 7th June 2021 by Margaret
