Technique

It is thinly painted on a grey ground. The features are outlined in orange, which shows through the beard and surface modelling. The face has been painted tentatively with small brushes, the dark khaki background painted more broadly with criss-crossing strokes. The jacket is a rich reddish-brown, painted rather dryly, and left unfinished.

Shortly before Whistler's death, Freer suggested more sittings, but it was too late: the painting was never completed. 1

Conservation History

It was cleaned and 'resurfaced' several times between 1922 and 1951. In 1965 Ben Johnson commented that the varnish was thick and retouching around the head had darkened; accordingly the portrait was cleaned and losses infilled, and it was retouched and revarnished. In 1970 a small scratch on the nose was repaired. 2

Frame

An American-made Grau-style frame dating from ca 1905. 3 The frame was re-gilded in 1960 and repaired in 1965.