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Composition
v.: Study for 'Symphony in Flesh Colour and Pink: Portrait of Mrs Frances Leyland', Art Institute of Chicago
Symphony in Flesh Colour and Pink: Portrait of Mrs Frances Leyland, The Frick Collection
The drawing on the verso is a rough study for Symphony in Flesh Colour and Pink: Portrait of Mrs Frances Leyland [YMSM 106]. In the final painting the figure, though still seen from the back, is seen turning more to left. Branka Nakanishi considered that the details of dress and pose suggest this is the last of Whistler's series of designs for the composition. 1
r.: Study for 'Arrangement in Black, No. 2: Portrait of Mrs Louis Huth', Art Institute of Chicago
Arrangement in Black, No. 2: Portrait of Mrs Louis Huth', Private Collection
The drawing on the recto is a study for Arrangement in Black, No. 2: Portrait of Mrs Louis Huth [YMSM 125]. Stephanie L. Strother notes : 'The pose and dress are translated fairly directly from the study to the painting, although the train is more extensive in the painting, and the viewpoint slightly higher.' 2
Study for 'Arrangement in Black, No. 2: Portrait of Mrs Louis Huth', Ashmolean Museum
A second study, Study for 'Arrangement in Black, No. 2: Portrait of Mrs Louis Huth' [M.0455], is closer to the final composition in colour, omitting the pale blues of the first design.
Strother comments interestingly on the connections between these and other compositions and accessories:
'the two portraits on the Art Institute sheet do reveal instances of cross-fertilization. The dashes of white on the left edge of the drawing of Mrs. Huth may be a reference to a spray of flowers, such as those appearing in a similar location in the oil painting of Mrs. Leyland. Further, the rug in the Huth drawing—although not included in the final painting of Huth—was likely the one seen in the Leyland oil painting, albeit in a different palette. A version of this rug also appears in another oil portrait from the same period, Harmony in Grey and Green: Miss Cicely Alexander [YMSM 129]. The patterned curtain in the drawing of Mrs. Huth has additionally been compared to the wall hanging in Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother [YMSM 101] These shared props reveal Whistler’s fluidity with design elements between works—what did not serve one in the final analysis might serve another.' 3
Technique
r.: Study for 'Arrangement in Black, No. 2: Portrait of Mrs Louis Huth', Art Institute of Chicago
v.: Study for 'Symphony in Flesh Colour and Pink: Portrait of Mrs Frances Leyland', Art Institute of Chicago
The figures are outlined in black and illuminated with light flecks of pale coloured pastels, with the brown of the unevenly textured paper providing a mid-colour. 4
Notes:
2: Stephanie L. Strother, 'Cat. 14 Study for “Arrangement in Black, No. 2: Portrait of Mrs. Louis Huth” (recto), c. 1872: Curatorial Entry,' in Clarke, Jay A., and Sarah Kelly Oehler, eds., Whistler Paintings and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, 2020, website (cat. no. 14).
3: Ibid.
Last updated: 27th April 2021 by Margaret
