The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Danseuse athénienne dates from 1885/1888.

Danseuse athénienne, Freer Gallery of Art

It is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1072).

Images

Subject

Sitter

Not identified. It is possible that it was actually Carmen Rossi (b. ca 1878.

Technique

Technique

See MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1076).

History

Provenance

• Before 1903: acquired from Whistler by Carmen Rossi (b. ca 1878, Paris;
• 1903: sold at auction, Drouot, Paris, 25 November 1903 (lot no. 4, repr.) as 'Danseuse athénienne', and bought by William Stephen Marchant (1868-1925), London dealer;
• 1904: owned by Hedley Cuthbertson according to the Art Journal (possibly Edward Hedley Cuthbertson (1863-1944), a stockbroker in London).
• 1909: sold at auction, Christie's, London, 21 May 1909 (lot 10), and bought in by Wallis, London dealers;
• 1909: bought by Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919), Detroit, 9 July 1909;
• 1919: bequeathed to the Freer Gallery of Art.

Further details are given in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1076).

Exhibitions

• 1903: Watercolours, Pastels, Drawings in Black and White, Sculptures and Bronzes By British and Foreign Artists Including A Selection of Works by H. B. Brabazon, and A Group of Works by the late James McNeill Whistler, W. Marchant & Co., Goupil Gallery, London, 1903 (cat. no. 39) as 'La Danseuse Athénienne'.

By the terms of Freer's will, this work cannot be lent to another venue.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 1072) as 'Danseuse athénienne'.

Catalogues 1855-1905

EXHIBITION:

• Watercolours, Pastels, Drawings in Black and White, Sculptures and Bronzes By British and Foreign Artists Including A Selection of Works by H. B. Brabazon, and A Group of Works by the late James McNeill Whistler, W. Marchant & Co., Goupil Gallery, London, 1903 (cat. no. 39) as 'La Danseuse Athénienne'.

SALE:

• Drouot, Paris, 25 November 1903 (lot no. 4, repr.) as 'Danseuse athénienne'.

Journals 1855-1905

• Forthuny, Pascal, 'Notes sur James Whistler', Gazette des beaux-arts, vol. 30, no. 557, 3rd series, November 1903, pp. 381-91, repr. p. 385 as 'Etude de femme drape'.
• Athenaeum, London, 5 December 1903, p.761.
• Anon., 'London Exhibitions. A Group of Drawings by Whistler', Art Journal, February 1904, pp. 66-67, repr. p. 66.

Catalogues 1906-Present

EXHIBITION:

• Curry, David Park, James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art, New York and London, 1984, p. 276, pl. 279.

SALE:

• Christie's, London, 21 May 1909 (lot 10).

Websites

• Freer Gallery of Art website at https://asia.si.edu/object/F1909.123a-b as 'A Study in Red'.