Composition

A possible inspiration for the costume (as well as the subject) are wood-engravings of the murder of the Duke of Buckingham, in, for instance, the illlustrated edition of Les Trois Mousquetaires, Dufour et Moulat, Paris, 1851.

Technique

It appears that a sketching club was involved, in which Whistler was presumably joined by some of the other professionally trained draughtsmen and painters who attended West Point art classes under Robert Weir. A fellow cadet, Frances Laurens Vinton, could well have joined Whistler in this etching club; his work is similar in style. Maybe a competitive spirit was encouraged by the club, and led to the production of such highly developed paintings as Whistler’s.

The precision of Whistler’s brushwork, the treatment of detail (particularly of dress) and texture, and the vivid colour, are very striking.

Conservation History

The Doyle's auction catalogue of 8 May 2013 noted that it was glued at the corners to the back matting.