The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Sketch of 'Symphony in White No. 3', Library of Congress

Sketch of 'Symphony in White No. 3' was drawn in a letter from Whistler to Ignace-Henri-Jean-Théodore Fantin-Latour (1836-1904) on 16 August 1865, the relevant passages being as follows:

'...c'est surtout la composition qui m'occupe voici ou j'en suis

fond gris très fin [sketch:] / canapé blanc / bleu clair tres fin

[on left of sketch:] Jo en robe de toile très blanc, la même robe que la fille blanche d'autrefois - cette figure est tout ce que j'ai fait de plus pur - tête charmante. Le corps, les jambes, etc., se voient parfaitement à travers la robe

[on right of sketch:] tête blonde, robe de soie blanche jaunatre - ce que l'on appelle foulard - quelque fleurs pourpre foncé tombées par terre près la robe jaunâtre

Comment trouve la ligne du haut? [sketch] n'est ce pas bien - et puis l'arangement de deux bras sur le canapé comme ca [sketch] J'attends le moment ou je puisse te montrer ce tableau - ' ¹

The drawing is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 323).

Images

Subject

Sitter

Symphony in White, No. 3, Barber Institute of Fine Arts

Joanna Hiffernan (b. ca 1843-d.1886) and Emelie 'Millie' Eyre Jones (1850-1920).

Technique

Composition

Sketch of 'Symphony in White No. 3', Library of Congress

Symphony in White, No. 3, Barber Institute of Fine Arts

This is a sketch of Symphony in White, No. 3 y061, showing the main features of the composition.

History

Provenance

• 1865: sent to Ignace-Henri-Jean-Théodore Fantin-Latour (1836-1904);
• 1904: bequeathed to his wife Victoria Dubourg (1840-1926);
• 1926: sold, possibly after her death, to Elizabeth Robins Pennell (1855-1936);
• By 1936: transferred to the E. R. & J. Pennell Collection, Library of Congress.

The exact dates of ownership between 1904 and 1936 are not entirely certain.

Exhibitions

It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 323) as "Sketch of 'Symphony in White No. 3' ".

Websites

• The Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler, 1855-1903, edited by Margaret F. MacDonald, Patricia de Montfort and Nigel Thorp; including The Correspondence of Anna McNeill Whistler, 1855-1880, edited by Georgia Toutziari. Online edition, University of Glasgow. GUW #11477.