Portrait Sketch of a Lady dates from the late 1870s. 1

Portrait Sketch of a Lady, Freer Gallery of Art

It is dated partly on the basis of provenance (it is believed to date from the period shortly before Whistler's bankruptcy, and acquired at that time by Thomas Way (1837-1915)), and also by the technique (the thinness of the paint and 'dripping' are similar, for instance, to that seen in Arrangement in Yellow and Grey: Effie Deans [YMSM 183]).