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

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M.1245
Four butterflies

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1890
Collection: Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Accession Number: Pennell Collection
Medium: black crayon and white paint
Support: off-white wove paper laid down on cream wove paper, stuck in a copy of 'The Gentle Art of Making Enemies' (Whistler 1890) on p. 1, opposite Whistler's butterfly and numbering ('No. 37') of the edition
Size: 8 1/4 x 6 7/16" (209 x 163 mm)
Signature: butterflies
Inscription: '164' in unknown hand

Four butterflies

Description

Four butterflies, Library of Congress
Four butterflies, Library of Congress

Four butterflies based on Whistler's monogram 'JW', with the addition of barbed tails. They were designed for Whistler 1890 [more] . Two of the butterflies were used. Where corrections were made in white paint, the paint has now cracked.

Last updated: 18th March 2021 by Margaret