The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.0609
Oviform Vase
Date
Oviform Vase dates from 1876/1878. It is an illustration in a catalogue of the collection of Henry Thompson (1820-1894). 1
Oviform Vase, Glasgow Museums
The small butterfly was added in 1893.
The drawing is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 609).
Images
Oviform Vase, Glasgow Museums
Oviform Vase, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
Oviform Vase, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
Oviform Vase, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
Subject
Description
Oviform Vase, Glasgow Museums
An oviform vase, lit from the left. The Thompson catalogue described this vase as one of three: 'Three Oviform Vases. A monster (supposed to be the dog "Foa") on rocks surrounded by waves, watching the movements of various birds; round the neck a castellated design; round the cover a running leaf pattern, above which is an eagle. Height, 8 inches.' 2
Technique
Composition
Oviform Vase, Glasgow Museums
Oviform Vase, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
Oviform Vase, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
Oviform Vase, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
This is an illustration for Plate VI, Thompson 1878 [more]. There are three preliminary studies, Oviform Vase m0606, Oviform Vase m0607, and Oviform Vase m0608.
History
Provenance
- 1876/1878: given to Murray Marks (1840-1918), London art dealer;
- 1879: possibly sold at auction, Christie's, London, 7 February 1879 (lots 527-533), and bought by Pickford Robert Waller (1849-1930) (see Cylindrical Jar m0594).
- 1893: probably acquired by Deprez and Gutekunst, London dealers;
- 1893: signed by Whistler at the request of the New York dealer Max Williams (d. 1928), and offered to Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) of Detroit; 3
- 1893: Freer bought one, Vase with slightly bulging body m0617, and the remainder were sold by Deprez and Gutekunst to Williams;
- 1904: in September Max Williams sold eleven drawings to Col. Robert James Bennet (1843-1916), Glasgow; 4
- 1905: on 24 February John Craibe Angus (1861-1910), Glasgow art dealer, submitted eleven drawings to Joseph Pennell (1860-1926);
- 1905: returned by Pennell to Craibe Angus, and sold at some time to a Scottish collector.
- 1925: given by Robert Douglas MacGregor (1850-1934) of Wiston Lodge, Lamington, Lanarkshire, to Glasgow City Art Gallery (now Glasgow Museums).
Exhibitions
- 1878: A Catalogue of Blue and White Porcelain forming the collection of Sir Henry Thompson, Murray Marks gallery, London, 1878.
The porcelain, the final drawings, and the newly published catalogue, were exhibited in Murray Marks's shop in London, the private view being held on 30 April 1878.
Bibliography
Catalogues Raisonnés
- MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 609) as 'Oviform Vase'.
Authored by Whistler
- Thompson, Sir Henry, A Catalogue of Blue and White Nankin Porcelain Forming the Collection of Sir Henry Thompson. Illustrated ... from Drawings by James Whistler ... and Sir Henry Thompson, London, 1878 (cat. no. 21) repr. pl. VI.
Catalogues 1855-1905
- A Catalogue of Blue and White Porcelain forming the collection of Sir Henry Thompson, Murray Marks gallery, London, 1878 (cat. no. 21).
Notes:
1: Thompson 1878 [more].
2: Thompson 1878 [more], p. 6 (cat. no. 21) repr. pl. 6.
3: J. H. Jordan to Freer, 1 May 1893, Freer Gallery of Art.
4: Fitzroy Carrington to E. R. Pennell, 5 September 1906, Library of Congress. The drawings were Oviform Vase m0596, Oviform Vase and Cover m0603, Large Bowl and Cover m0605, Oviform Vase m0609, Ewer and Cover m0610, Tall Vase, with Bulging Body m0611, Beaker m0615, Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck m0619, Large Bowl and Cover m0634, Bottle of compressed globular form m0636, and Teapot, in the form of a pomegranate m0642.