The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.0591
Designs for plates
Date
Designs for plates date from about 1876.
Designs for plates, British Museum
The drawing is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 591).
Images
Designs for plates, British Museum
The White Symphony: Three Girls, Freer Gallery of Art
Nocturne: Blue and Gold - Old Battersea Bridge, Tate Britain
Subject
Description
Designs for plates, British Museum
There are nine designs for plates on the sheet. One was altered and cut out, and possibly replaced by another, in a square 47 x 50 mm (1 7/8 x 1 15/16"). Three plates have ship designs, one is figurative and another includes a bridge.
Technique
Composition
Designs for plates, British Museum
The White Symphony: Three Girls, Freer Gallery of Art
Nocturne: Blue and Gold - Old Battersea Bridge, Tate Britain
One design includes figures similar to those in The White Symphony: Three Girls y087, and another is like Nocturne: Blue and Gold - Old Battersea Bridge y140.
History
Provenance
- ca 1876: acquired by William Cleverly Alexander (1840-1916);
- 1916: passed by family descent to Rachel Alexander (1875-1964) and Jean Ingelow Alexander (1877-1972);
- 1958: given 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. 591) as 'Designs for plates'.