The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

M.0698
r.: Seated figure; v.: Dragonflies and a butterfly

r.: Seated figure; v.: Dragonflies and a butterfly

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1878
Collection: Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Accession Number: F1905.152a-b
Medium: r.: chalk and pastel; v.: chalk and watercolour
Support: brown wove paper
Size: 10 1/2 x 6 13/16" (267 x 173 mm)
Signature: none
Inscription: none

Date

r.: Seated figure; v.: Dragonflies and a butterfly date from about 1878.

r.: Seated figure, Freer Gallery of Art
r.: Seated figure, Freer Gallery of Art

v.: Dragonflies and a butterfly, Freer Gallery of Art
v.: Dragonflies and a butterfly, Freer Gallery of Art

The drawings are fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 698).

Images

r.: Seated figure, Freer Gallery of Art
r.: Seated figure, Freer Gallery of Art

v.: Dragonflies and a butterfly, Freer Gallery of Art
v.: Dragonflies and a butterfly, Freer Gallery of Art

Subject

Sitter

r.: Seated figure, Freer Gallery of Art
r.: Seated figure, Freer Gallery of Art

The figure was believed by C. L. Freer to be Maud Franklin (1857-1939). 1

Comments

According to Thomas Robert Way (1861-1913), a 'Sketch of a Lady, seated' was owned by H. E. Morgan in 1912. 2 It shows a model in a similar pose to the figure on the recto of r.: Seated figure; v.: Dragonflies and a butterfly m0698, with her left arm resting on the chairback. The lines look weak, and numerous pentimenti display confusion about the pose. The resulting shadows on the woman's face look like a two-days growth of beard. It is possible that it was an abandoned study for this drawing, but, with only the reproduction to go by, it was excluded from the 1995 catalogue. 3

Technique

Composition

The dragonflies, similar to sketches on Study of Rosettes for Lady's Dress m0434 and Chelsea Reach and the dragonfly m0708, may relate to a decorative scheme, possibly for William Cleverly Alexander (1840-1916), or a design similar to Harmony in Yellow and Gold: The Butterfly Cabinet y195.

History

Provenance

Details are given in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 698).

Exhibitions

By the terms of Freer's will the drawing can not be lent to other venues.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

Journals 1855-1905

Catalogues 1906-Present

Websites


Notes:

1: Note describing it as 'Black, White & Red', annotated by C. L. Freer, 'seated figure of Maude', Freer Gallery of Art.

2: Way 1912 [more], repr. f.p. 96

3: MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 698).