The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Souvenir of the Gaiety dates from 1878.

Souvenir of the Gaiety, Private Collection

It is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 664).

Images

Subject

Sitter

Souvenir of the Gaiety, Private Collection

The sketch probably relates to visits by Whistler and friends to see Ellen ('Nellie') Farren (1848-1904) and Ellen Terry (1847-1928) in John Hollingshead's farce The Grasshopper, and Henry James Byron's burlesque Little Dr Faust, at the Gaiety Theatre in January 1878. Whistler drew and painted several subjects related to these performances (r.: Masked girl wearing a head-dress skipping; v.: Dancer m0663, r.: Nellie Farren; v.: Demon m0665, r.: Demon; v.: Two sketches of Nellie Farren m0666, r.: Two sketches of Nellie Farren; v.: Studies of two actors or actresses, one playing a banjo m0667, r.: Demon; v.: Young woman m0668, and Harmony in Blue: The Duet y196.

Technique

Technique

Souvenir of the Gaiety,Private Collection

The action was briefly recorded in black broken lines: the colour was almost certainly applied later. ¹

History

Provenance

• By 1905: owned by William Eden (1849-1915).
• 1910: sold from a private collection, at auction, Anderson Art Galleries, New York, 2 March 1910 (lot 167).
• Date unknown: 'Souvenir of the Gaiety (The Grasshopper)' was at some time with Frederick Keppel (1845-1912), New York dealer (# F6487 label).
• 1965: bought by a private collector, Cleveland, Ohio;
• 1984: sold to Knoedler's, New York dealers, 27 September;
• 1988: sold to Hammer Galleries, New York dealers, 1 November (#KM1330);
• After 1988: sold to a private collector, Salt Lake City.
• 1999: sold at auction, Sotheby's, New York, 27 May 1999 (lot 81).
• By 2005: exhibited Spanierman Gallery, New York, NY, 2005-2006.
• Date unknown: acquired for a private collection.

The early provenance is unknown.

Exhibitions

• 1905: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905 (cat. no. 110) as 'Souvenir of the Gaiety'.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 664) as 'Souvenir of the Gaiety'.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905 (cat. no. 110) as 'Souvenir of the Gaiety'.

Catalogues 1906-Present

EXHIBITIONS:

• The Poetic Vision: American Tonalism, Spanierman Gallery, New York, NY, 2006 (no catalogue number).

SALES:

• Anderson Art Galleries, New York, 2 March 1910 (lot 167).
• Sotheby's, New York, 27 May 1999 (lot 81).
• The Poetic Vision: American Tonalism, Spanierman Gallery, LLC, New York, 2005-2006, p. 3 (no cat numbers).