The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.0106
r.: West Point cadets; v.: Studies of heads, hats, and figures
Date
r.: West Point cadets; v.: Studies of heads, hats, and figures dates from between 1852 and 1854 and was given to a fellow cadet at West Point, Alexander Stewart Webb (1835-1911).
r.: West Point cadets, private collection
It is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 106). This record has been updated.
Images
r.: West Point cadets, private collection
v.: Studies of heads, hats, and figures, private collection
Subject
Sitter
r.: West Point cadets, private collection
Cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Technique
Technique
r.: West Point cadets, private collection
A fairly elaborate drawing, using oft-repeated, broken outlines, and carefully graded shading and cross-hatching on the principal trio, and attention to details in order to distinguish the uniforms of cadets and graduates.
History
Provenance
- 1852/1854: given to Alexander Stewart Webb (1835-1911).
- 1992: sold at auction, Sotheby's, New York, 25 September 1992 (lot 74) as 'West Point Cadets'.
- 2004: sold at auction, Christie's, New York, 27 September 2004 (lot 51), bought by a private collector.
In 1906 Webb told Joseph Pennell (1860-1926) that Whistler had given him 'seven sketches - I have them still'. 1
See MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 106); this record has been updated.
Bibliography
Catalogues Raisonnés
- MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 106) as 'r.: West Point cadets; v.: Studies of heads, hats, and figures'.
Catalogues 1906-Present
- Sotheby's, New York, 25 September 1992 (lot 74) as 'West Point Cadets'.
- Christie's, New York, 27 September 2004 (lot 51, repr.).
Notes:
1: Letter dated 17 October 1906, Pennell Collection, Library of Congress, MSS vol. 303. See The Admiration of the Furloughmen m0105.