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

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M.1545
Man looking out of a window

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1898
Collection: Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Accession Number: 2006685420
Medium: pencil
Support: green wove paper with watermark 'FLORIAN', a dust jacket with printed heading 'EVELYN INNES BY GEORGE MOORE' published by T. Fisher Unwin, London, with a printed illustration by William T. Norton
Size: 8 1/8 x 20 1/16" (206 x 530 mm)
Signature: none
Inscription: "Drawn by Whistler. June 16.'98" by J. Pennell

Man looking out of a window

Technique

Man looking out of a window, Library of Congress
Man looking out of a window, Library of Congress

This is a slight sketch (50 x 45 mm), almost invisible, although the head is carefully shaded. Authentication of this sketch on the back of a book-cover relies on Pennell's identification: presumably they saw Whistler doodling and kept the sketch carefully. The jacket design(not reproduced) shows a lady by a lake.

Conservation History

The top and bottom edges are ragged and worn. The green has faded nearly to cream.

Last updated: 7th March 2021 by Margaret