The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

M.0598
Bottle

Bottle

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1876/1878
Collection: Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, NY
Accession Number: 69.163
Medium: pen, black ink and wash
Support: cream paper laid down on card
Size: 5 7/8 x 4 1/2" (149 x 114 mm)
Signature: butterfly
Inscription: none

Date

Bottle dates from 1876/1878. It is a preliminary study for an illustration in a catalogue of the collection of Henry Thompson (1820-1894). 1

Bottle, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
Bottle, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute

The drawing is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 598).

Images

Bottle, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
Bottle, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute

Bottle, Freer Gallery of Art
Bottle, Freer Gallery of Art

Subject

Description

Bottle, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
Bottle, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute

A rough sketch of a round bottle with a narrow neck. It is lit from the left and casts a shadow to right.

The Thompson catalogue described the subject of the final illustration as 'Pair of Bottles, of depressed globular form, with short neck. Vases, implements, and leaves on a translucent ground of pale blue; ornamented with stemless hawthorn. On the neck a projecting rim with ornamental band; above stemless hawthorn. Height, 7 ½ inches.' 2

The study shows the decoration only cursorily.

Technique

Composition

Bottle, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
Bottle, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute

Bottle, Freer Gallery of Art
Bottle, Freer Gallery of Art

This is one of two preliminary studies for Plate III, Thompson 1878 [more].

History

Provenance

Exhibitions

It was not, as far as is known, exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

Authored by Whistler


Notes:

1: Thompson 1878 [more].

2: Thompson 1878 [more], p. 3 (cat. no. 8) repr. pl. 3.

3: Cylindrical Jar m0593, Oviform Vase m0595Bottle m0597, Bottle m0598, Oviform Ginger-Jar with Bell-Shaped Cover m0600, Oviform Vase and Cover m0602, Large Bowl and Cover m0604, Oviform Vase m0606, Oviform Vase m0607, Oviform Vase m0608, Oviform Vase m0609, Double Gourd Vase m0612, Beaker m0614, Beaker m0615, Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck m0619, Cylindrical Vase with thick neck m0620, Cylindrical Vase with thick neck m0621, Square Canister with long neck m0623, Square Canister with expanding neck m0625, Globular-shaped Bottle with long neck, and a deep dish m0627, Saucer-shaped Dish m0629, Square Canister with square neck, and saucer-shaped Dish m0630, Plate, Bowl with a cover surmounted by a cup-shaped knob, Globular-shaped Bottle with long neck and Eight-sided Bowl m0632, Bottle of compressed globular form m0635, Treble-Gourd Vase with long neck, and Bowl with scalloped edge m0639, Teapot in the form of a pomegranate m0641, Globular Bottle with long thin neck, Cylindrical-shaped Pot with flat cover surmounted by a knob, and Shallow Bowl m0643, Oviform Pot and cover m0646, Beaker with expanding neck m0648, Oviform Vase and cover m0650.