Artist: James McNeill Whistler Date: 1890 Collection: Art Institute of Chicago Accession Number: 33.283 Medium: graphite pencil Support: cream wove paper Size: 7 1/2 x 5" (192 x 128 mm) Signature: butterfly Inscription: r.: 'WSB' (collector's mark of W. S. Brewster), and '7/16' upside down in an unknown hand; v.: '33.283' and 'oc 7' in unknown hands
A butterfly based on Whistler's monogram 'JW', with the addition of a long, curved, barbed tail. It was designed for Whistler, James McNeill, The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, London, 1890.