The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Lady playing the harp dates from between 1849 and 1851, and was given to Whistler's fellow pupil at Christ Church Hall, Pomfret, CT, Samuel Hammond (1835-1896).

Lady playing the harp, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University

This is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 53).

Images

Subject

Description

Lady playing the harp, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University

A woman in historical costume, facing left, possibly strumming a harp that is revealed as a pale blue cover is pulled back. A deep red curtain is behind her at left, and an archway at right, and there are grey and white tiles on the floor. The drawing is unfinished: what might be a greyhound is in the lower left corner.

Technique

Technique

Lady playing the harp, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University

See MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 53).

History

Provenance

• 1849/1850: given to Samuel Hammond (1835-1896) at Christ Church Hall, Pomfret, CT;
• 1896: passed by family descent to his son, Samuel Hammond (1859-1934) and daughter-in-law Grace Hammond (1874-1972);
• 1973: given to their son, Professor Mason Hammond (1903-2002), Harvard, MA;
• 2002: passed to the estate of Professor Hammond;
• 2015: anonymous loan and promised gift to the Fogg Museum, Harvard, in honor of Professor Mason Hammond.

For further details see MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 41).

Exhibitions

• 1904: Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler, Copley Society, Boston, 1904 (cat. no. 170) as 'Twenty-two Drawings and Sketches done by Mr Whistler while at School in Pomfret, Conn., about 1850'.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 53) as 'Lady playing the harp'.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler, Copley Society, Boston, 1904 (cat. no. 170) 'Twenty-two Drawings and Sketches done by Mr Whistler while at school at Pomfret, Conn., about 1850.'

Catalogues 1906-Present

• Oils, Water-colors, Drawings and Prints by James McNeill Whistler, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1934 (cat. no. 43, 44 or 45).

Websites

• Harvard Art Museums website.