Detail from The Canal, Amsterdam, 1889, James McNeill Whistler, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

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M.0565
Design for a butterfly

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1874
Collection: British Museum, London
Accession Number: 1958-7-8-11
Medium: charcoal and watercolour
Support: brown paper, part of envelope
Size: 4" x 3 3/16" (102 x 81 mm)
Signature: none
Inscription: r: '23 Howland... To Mr J. W … / care of F .../ Speke' (address on fragment of an envelope)

Design for a butterfly

Design for a butterfly was designed for brooches to be worn at the opening of Mr Whistler's Exhibition, Flemish Gallery, 48 Pall Mall, London, 1874. The address on the fragement of paper suggests that the drawing was done at Speke Hall, home of Frederick Richards Leyland (1832-1892).

Design for a butterfly, British Museum
Design for a butterfly, British Museum

It is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 565).

Last updated: 15th February 2021 by Margaret