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

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M.1533
Portrait of Whistler

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1898/1900
Collection: Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Accession Number: 96511326
Medium: pen and brown ink
Support: cream laid paper
Size: 4 7/16 x 3 7/16" (112 x 88 mm)
Signature: butterfly
Inscription: r.: draft of a letter to a newspaper editor signed 'J. McNeill Whistler.', and, in unknown hands, calculations, and '102-3190/ 003226-1. 1/ 02-84-048.58/ 02-84-479.1'

Portrait of Whistler

Portrait of Whistler probably dates from 1898/1900, but could date from earlier.

It is drawn on the verso of the draft of a letter to a newspaper editor, possibly dating from May 1898. 1

Portrait of Whistler, Library of Congress
Portrait of Whistler, Library of Congress

It is related to Whistler's appearance in Gold and Brown [YMSM 462], which is dated 1896/1898 and was exhibited in the Exhibition of International Art, International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, Knightsbridge, London, 1898.

The drawing was owned by Carmen Rossi (fl. 1880/1901) who modelled for Whistler from 1894 on, and was proprietess of the Académie Carmen 1898-1901.

The drawing is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1533) dated 1898/1900.

Notes:

1: The partial (torn) draft reads: '[Whis]tler's acknowledgements // ... [Dai]ly Mail - / ...[par]alised with gratitude / ... [a]t the delicacy and kind / ... you chew the food you / ... Readers - Of course you / …Pray receive my compliments J. McNeill Whistler.' GUW #09607. However, it is possible that the draft dates from earlier or later. It is possible, for instance, that it dates from 10 April 1897, when Whistler sent E. G. Kennedy a cutting from the Daily Mail (GUW #09762).

Last updated: 6th March 2021 by Margaret