The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Note in Blue and Opal dates from 1885/1886.

Note in Blue and Opal, The Hunterian

It is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1080).

Images

Subject

Sitter

Note in Blue and Opal, The Hunterian

Unidentified. The Hunterian website comments:

'The model in this pastel is holding a lute, a popular accessory of the Pre-Raphaelites. She is set against a curtain perhaps to imply that she is on stage. Whistler could not entirely escape contemporary critics who placed great importance on narrative and subject matter. Here, Whistler has combined recognizable accessories with the abstract element of colour and ultimately it is the wonderful colour and not the attitude of the model which is of importance.' ¹

Technique

Technique

Note in Blue and Opal, The Hunterian

See MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1080).

History

Provenance

• 1903: in the artist's studio at his death and bequeathed to his sister-in-law, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958);
• 1935: given by Miss Birnie Philip to the University of Glasgow.

Exhibitions

• 1886: probably Winter Exhibition, Society of British Artists, London, 1886 (cat. no. 369) as 'Note in Blue and Opal'.

It is identified from a caricature by J. Bernard Partridge (1861-1945), published in Judy on 8 December 1886, and captioned "Catching the fl- (`I beg pardon') 'Got 'im!' "

By the terms of Miss Birnie Philip's Gift, 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. 1080) as 'Note in Blue and Opal'.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• Probably Winter Exhibition, Society of British Artists, London, 1886 (cat. no. 369) as 'Note in Blue and Opal'.

Newspapers 1855-1905

• St James's Gazette, London, 1 December 1886.

Journals 1855-1905

• Anon., 'A Game of Whistler', Punch, 4 December 1886, p. 274.
• Judy, 8 December 1886, caricature by J. B. Partridge captioned "Catching the fl- (`I beg pardon') 'Got 'im!' "

Websites

• The Hunterian website at http://collections.gla.ac.uk.