Provenance

• 1894/1896: possibly bought from the artist by Ellen Mellicent Sickert (1848-1914) , London;
• 1914-1915: passed on her death to her estate.
• By 1919: Howard Young Galleries, New York.
• By 1924: Harold Somers (dates unknown), Brooklyn.
• 1924/1931: Knoedler Galleries, New York.
• By 1931: Milch Galleries, New York.
• By 1935: John Levy Galleries;
• 1941: sold by John Levy Galleries through Martin Birnbaum to Grenville Lindell Winthrop (1864-1943) ;
• 1943: Winthrop's bequest to the Fogg Art Museum.

It is not known if the sitter or her husband, Walter Richard Sickert (1860-1942), commissioned or bought this painting. It was exhibited several times from 1894 to 1895. It is possible that it was with David Croal Thomson (1855-1930) in 1896 or 1897, when Whistler asked the dealer to 'kindly send Mrs Sickerts portrait to the studio here this afternoon.' 1

After her divorce in 1899 the sitter used her maiden name of Cobden, and she owned the painting, although it is not known exactly when she acquired it. It was lent by her estate, after her death, to the International Exhibition of Fine Arts, Panama-Pacific Exposition, San Francisco in 1915 (cat. no. 275).

According to a notice in the American Art News it was with the Howard Young Galleries, New York, in 1919. 2 Pousette-Dart records it as owned by Harold Somers, Brooklyn, in 1924. 3 In 1931 it was, according to the Art News, with the Milch Gallery, New York dealers. 4 It could have been the Milch Gallery or another dealer, either Knoedler's or the John Levy Galleries, which lent it to an exhibition in Dallas in 1934 (cat. no. 174) as 'Portrait of Mrs. Cobden Sickert' for sale at $60,000 (all three were among the lenders listed). Between 1935 and 1940 it was definitely with the John Levy Galleries who lent it to an exhibition in San Francisco in 1935 (cat. no. 241) and in Detroit in 1940 (cat. no. 79). Finally, it was bought by G. L. Winthrop on 10 March 1941, and bequeathed by him to Harvard University.

Exhibitions

• 1894: Exposition Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Champ de Mars, Paris, 1894 (cat. no. 1185) as 'Vert et violet; portrait de Mme S...'
• 1894: Fourth Exhibition, Society of Portrait Painters, New Gallery, London, 1894 (cat. no. 85) as 'Mrs. Bernard Sickert'.
• 1895: Thirty-fourth Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, Glasgow, 1895 (cat. no. 1l) as 'Mrs. Bernard Sickert'. [sic]
• 1904: Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler, Copley Society, Boston, 1904 (cat. no. 35).
• 1905: Œuvres de James McNeill Whistler, Palais de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1905 (cat. no. 26).

Francis Gerard Prange (b. ca 1843) assumed that Whistler was prepared to lend the portrait of Mrs Sickert to the New Gallery on extended loan, and wrote to the artist, 'Mrs Sickert, I suppose I may look upon as a fixture.' 5 By 15 October 1894 Whistler had arranged for tickets for the Private View at the New Gallery to go to Thomas Robert Way (1861-1913) and his father. 6 On 17 October the Times commented favourably on the Society of Portrait Painters exhibition:

'The Whistler, too, is new: a small full-length of "Mrs Sickert", seated (85) – a lady in a black and grey-blue dress; charming as a colour scheme, of course, but with a curious stiffness in the pose of the right arm.' 7

Several papers mistakenly thought the portrait showed the wife of the unmarried Bernard Sickert! The Daily News commended – a bit grudgingly – 'Mr Whistler's charm of harmonious colour' in contrast to 'much surrounding crudity': 'The portrait of Mrs Bernard Sickert (No. 85) is not one of his best. But how restful is the colour. The eye is grateful for what it wants and scarcely expects.' 8 And the Morning Post admired 'A small picture of Mrs Bernard Sickert, by James McNeill Whistler, [which] cleverly conveys an impression of dim light.' 9 The Pall Mall Gazette agreed:

'Regarded purely as colour, or looked at for its soft, sober ensemble, for its repose in its frame, Mr Whistler's "Mrs Bernard Sickert" (85) seems beautiful and distinguished, but it lacks the effect of surprise and the active magic of a really notable Whistler.' 10

In the following year the picture was on exhibition in Glasgow. The Dundee Courier called Whistler's portrait 'exquisite.' 11 The Pall Mall Gazette again chipped in with praise, after commending Glasgow's superiority over Edinburgh:

'The Glasgow Exhibition is both larger and more important [than the Edinburgh exhibition]. There, standard and touchstone are provided by Whistler in his portrait of Mrs Bernard Sickert. The colour-scheme is an arrangement in ivory-white, grey, and black, woven together by that atmosphere which Whistler alone can paint.' 12

The Scotsman (in Edinburgh) art critic commented on the Glasgow exhibition, including the 'portrait of Mrs Bernard Sickert', which, he wrote, 'is miles away from the weary conventional portraits.' 13 On 16 February 1895, the Gentlewoman praised it fulsomely: 'the gem of the collection is the charming cabinet portrait of Mrs. Bernard [sic] Sickert, by Macneil Whistler. Unaffected and simple in pose and treatment, it bears the indelible stamp of genius'.

On 17 May 1895 Prange asked whether he should return the portrait to 110 rue du Bac or 86 rue Notre Dame des Champs in Paris. 14

It was shown in the Whistler memorial exhibitions in Boston and Paris in 1904 and 1905.