The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Sleeping woman, National Gallery of Art

Weary, The Hunterian

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

It is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 310).

Images

Subject

Sitter

Sleeping woman, National Gallery of Art

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

Technique

Composition

Sleeping woman, National Gallery of Art

Weary, The Hunterian

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

Technique

See discussion in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 310.

History

Provenance

• Date unknown: acquired by Whistler's attorney, James Anderson Rose (1819-1890), London;
• 1891: sold with The Sleeper m0309, at auction, Christie's, London, 5 May 1891 (lot 112) as 'The Sleeper; and the companion', and bought by Messrs Dowdeswell, London art dealers.
• By 1905: owned by Bernard Buchanan MacGeorge (1845?-1924), Glasgow;
• Date unknown: acquired by Arthur Harris Whittemore (1864-1927), Naugatuck, CT;
• 1927: passed to his estate;
• 1948: sold at auction, H. Whittemore sale, Parke-Bernet, New York, 19-20 May 1948 (lot 153, repr.) as 'Sleeping Woman' and bought by the Rosenbach Company, Philadelphia;
• 1948: bought by Lessing Julius Rosenwald (1891-1971) of Philadelphia, and given to the National Gallery of Art;
• 1980: the Rosenwald Collection was housed at Alverthorpe until moved to the National Gallery.

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. 183) 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. 310) as 'Sleeping woman'.
• 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. 183) 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.
• National Gallery of Art website at https://www.nga.gov.