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Provenance
- 1895: commissioned by the sitter's mother, Annah B. Peck (b. ca 1850) (Mrs Harold Stanton Peck) of Chicago, for $2000 (£400) in March 1895; 1
- 1900: Whistler returned the money to the sitter's husband, William Richman Farquhar (1860-1952); 2
- 1903: the portrait appears to have been in Whistler's studio until his death.
One anecdote, almost certainly apocryphal, states that Whistler refused to send 'my masterpiece … to such a place as Chicago? Never!' 3
Exhibitions
It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.
Notes:
1: L. C. Kellogg to Whistler, 12 March [1895], GUW #02424.
2: Whistler to Farquhar, 7 June 1900, GUW #01620. Farquhar to Whistler, 14 June [1900], GUW #01093. Farquhar to Whistler, [8, 15 or 22 July 1900], GUW #01095.
3: Hadley, Frank A., 'Whistler, the man, as told in anecdote', Brush and Pencil, Chicago, August 1903, vol. 12, pp. 334-59, at p. 342.
Last updated: 3rd January 2021 by Margaret
