The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.0427
r.: Designs for a fan; v.: Studies of a woman and a man
Date
r.: Designs for a fan; v.: Studies of a woman and a man date from 1871/1875. The butterfly signature implies a date of 1872/1873, but is an imprecise method of dating when it is being incorporated in a design like this.
r.: Designs for a fan, private collection
They are fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 427).
Images
r,: Designs for a fan, private collection
v.: Studies of a woman and a man, private collection
Subject
Description
r,: Designs for a fan, private collection
There are two fans, the one on the left decorated with flowers, and the other with women in a landscape. At lower left is a study of a seated woman. There are several designs for Whistler's butterfly signature on a circular or rectangular cartouche.
Sitter
v.: Studies of a woman and a man, private collection
The figures may possibly be Frances Leyland (1834-1910) and/or her sister Elizabeth Dawson (b. 1840), and James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903).
Technique
Technique
v.: Studies of a woman and a man, private collection
The male figure was probably not drawn by Whistler, although it could be an exercise in drawing and shading.
History
Provenance
- 1910: acquired by Henry Harper Benedict (1844-1935);
- 1935: bequeathed to his widow Katherine Geddes Benedict (1879-1961) and daughter Josephine Katherine Benedict, Mrs James Douglass Sharpe (ca 1918-1946), New York;
- 1962: sold at auction, Benedict estate sale, Sotheby's, London, 21 November 1962 (lot 2, repr.), and bought by Julius H. Weitzner (1896-1986), art dealer.
- 1971?: bought from Charles Carr, New York, by the Avnet estate;
- 1972: the property of the late Lester Avnet (1912-1970), Joan Avnet (d. 1994) and the Avnet Trust, sold at auction, Christie's, London, 10 March 1972 (lot 99) as 'Studies of Fans', bought by 'Hernshaw'.
- 1980: consigned by a New York museum for sale, Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 4 December 1980 (lot 5, repr.) as 'Fans and Figures', and bought by a private collector.
- 1987: on deposit with Hirschl and Adler, New York;
- 1987: in a private collection in Palm Beach, Florida in May 1987;
- 1988: sent to auction, Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 25 May 1988 (lot 63, repr.) as 'Fan and Figure Studies' but withdrawn.
See further details in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 427).
Exhibitions
It was not, as far as is known, 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. 427) as 'r.: Designs for a fan; v.: Studies of a woman and a man'.
Catalogues 1906-Present
SALE:
- Benedict estate sale, Sotheby's, London, 21 November 1962 (lot 2, repr.).
- Christie's, London, 10 March 1972 (lot 99) as 'Studies of Fans'.
- Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 4 December 1980 (lot 5, repr.) as 'Fans and Figures'.
- Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 25 May 1988 (lot 63, repr.) as 'Fan and Figure Studies' withdrawn.