The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

The Sleeper probably dates from 1863. It is a study for the drypoint Weary [93], which is dated '63' on the copper plate.

The Sleeper, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute

It is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 309).

Images

Subject

Sitter

The Sleeper, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute

Joanna Hiffernan (b. ca 1843-d.1886).

Technique

Composition

The Sleeper, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute

Weary, The Hunterian

It is one of two known studies for the drypoint Weary [93].

History

Provenance

• Date unknown: acquired by Whistler's attorney, James Anderson Rose (1819-1890), London;
• 1891: sold with Sleeping woman m0310, at auction, Christie's, London, 5 May 1891 (lot 112) as 'The Sleeper; and the companion', and bought by Dowdeswell, London dealers.
• By 1905: owned by Bernard Buchanan MacGeorge (1845?-1924), Glasgow;
• 1924: sold by Mrs MacGeorge through T. & R. Annan & Sons, Ltd, Glasgow, to P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., Ltd, London, 12 July 1924,
• 1925: sold by Colnaghi's on 26 January 1925;
• 1926/1927: owned at some time by Martin Birnbaum (1878-1970), according to Parke Bernet (1942);
• 1927: bought from him by Mrs Mrs Esther Slater Kerrigan (1892-1951), New York;
• 1942: sold at auction, E. S. Kerrigan sale, Parke Bernet, New York, 8-10 January 1942 (lot 32) as 'Woman Reclining';
• 1942: bought from Scott and Fowles, New York dealers, by Robert Sterling Clark (1877-1956);
• 1955: given to the Sterling and Francine Clark Institute.

Exhibitions

• 1905: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905 (cat. no. 184) as 'A Sleeping Figure'.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 309) as 'The Sleeper'.
• Margaret F. MacDonald, Grischka Petri, Meg Hausberg, and Joanna Meacock, James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonné, University of Glasgow, 2012 (G.93, 'Weary'), website.

Catalogues 1855-1905

EXHIBITION:

• Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905 (cat. no. 184) as 'A Sleeping Figure'.

SALE:

• Christie's, London, 5 May 1891 (lot 112) as 'The Sleeper; and the companion'.

Books on Whistler

• MacDonald, Margaret F., 'Joanna Hiffernan and James Whistler: an Artistic Partnership' in Margaret F. MacDonald (ed.), The Woman in White: Joanna Hiffernan and James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and Washington, 2020, pp. 15-31.

Catalogues 1906-Present

• MacDonald, Margaret F. (ed.) The Woman in White: Joanna Hiffernan and James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and Washington, 2020 (exhibition rescheduled to 2022).

Websites

• Margaret F. MacDonald, Grischka Petri, Meg Hausberg, and Joanna Meacock, James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonné, University of Glasgow, 2012 (cat. no. 93) website at http://etchings.arts.gla.ac.uk.
• Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute website at https://www.clarkart.edu/Collection/1486.