The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.0503
Design for a dress for Miss Cicely H. Alexander
Date
Design for a dress for Miss Cicely H. Alexander was drawing in a letter dated 26 August 1872, from Whistler's mother Anna Matilda Whistler (1804-1881) to Rachel Alexander (1875-1964). 1
Design for a dress for Miss Cicely H. Alexander, British Museum
The drawing was fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 503) where it was wrongly dated 1873.
Images
Design for a dress for Miss Cicely H. Alexander, British Museum
Harmony in Grey and Green: Miss Cicely Alexander, Tate Britain
Subject
Sitter
Design for a dress for Miss Cicely H. Alexander, British Museum
The dress was designed for Cicely Henrietta Alexander (1864-1932) though she was obviously not sitting for this sketch. The design of the dress is discussed in the letter. 2
Technique
Composition
Design for a dress for Miss Cicely H. Alexander, British Museum
Harmony in Grey and Green: Miss Cicely Alexander, Tate Britain
This is a study for the composition of Harmony in Grey and Green: Miss Cicely Alexander y129.
Conservation History
The drawing was placed in an album.
History
Provenance
- 1874: sent by Anna Matilda Whistler (1804-1881) to Rachel Agnes Lucas (Mrs W. C. Alexander) (1837-1900), London;
- 1900: passed to her husband, William Cleverly Alexander (1840-1916), London;
- 1916: passed to their daughters Rachel Alexander (1875-1964) and Jean Ingelow Alexander (1877-1972);
- 1958: given by them to the British Museum.
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. 503) as 'Design for a dress for Miss Cicely H. Alexander'.
- Young, Andrew McLaren, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer, and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, 1980 (oil, cat. no. 129).
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 #07571
Notes:
1: A. M. Whistler, with additions by Whistler, to R. A. Alexander, 26 August [1872], GUW #07571.
2: A. M. Whistler, with additions by Whistler, to R. A. Alexander, 26 August [1872], GUW #07571.