Provenance

• 1903: bought from Whistler by Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) , Detroit, in June 1903 for £800;
• 1919: bequeathed by C. L. Freer to the Freer Gallery of Art.

Freer noted seeing 'A number [of portraits] known as "The Lilly" including the "Little Red Glove" ' in Whistler's studio in 1902. 1 In June 1902 Freer noted that this painting was 'in progress' and Whistler agreed to sell it to him when completed. 2 In June or July 1903, shortly before the artist's death, Freer bought it for £800. 3

Exhibitions

• 1904: Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler, Copley Society, Boston, 1904 (cat. no. 41) as 'The Little Red Glove'.
• 1904: Comparative Exhibition of Native and Foreign Art under the auspices of the Society of Art Collectors, American Fine Arts Society, New York, 1904 (cat. no. 181) as 'The Little Red Glove'.
• 1905: Œuvres de James McNeill Whistler, Palais de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1905 (cat. no. 39) as 'The Little Red Glove'.

It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.

By the terms of C. L. Freer's bequest to the Freer Gallery of Art, the painting cannot be lent.