The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Velarium, The Hunterian

Velarium dates from 1887/1888. An old label read 'This drawing of a Velarium was executed by J. McNiel [sic] Whistler, Esq. in the presence/ of his Wife and Alexr. Jno. [Jaylor or Taylor], for the purpose of taking out a Patent for construction/ owing to his controversy with the Royal Society of British Artists.' According to the Patent Office (405-8721) Whistler applied for a patent 'for means of suspending velarium panoply or other canopied draperies from ceilings, roofs or otherwise.'; Patent No. 6223 was dated 26 April 1888 but the patent was later abandoned.

Although the witness's name was formerly read as 'Jaylor' it is more likely that he was Alexander J. Taylor, upholsterer, aged 43, living in Marylebone with his wife Maria, as recorded in the 1891 census. He was probably born Alexander John Taylor, on 14 September 1847, the son of Alexander Taylor, an upholsterer, in Marylebone.

The actual velarium was used for the first time in the exhibition of the RBA in May 1886. When Whistler left the RBA he took his velarium with him. It was the one innovation of which his Society had approved, so they ordered a new one. Whistler reminded them that he had taken out a patent on the velarium, and indeed he had, but so recently as to suggest that he did it merely to foil the RBA.William Ayerst Ingram (1855-1913) commented that it was 'a patent taken out by the Greeks and Romans' (quoted in Pennell 1908). Whistler failed to stop the RBA from putting up another one.

The drawing is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1122).

Images

Subject

Site

Unspecific. However, it was first designed to be hung in the exhibition rooms of the Royal Society of British Artists in London.

Technique

Composition

Velarium, The Hunterian

The velarium consisted of a piece of cloth hung from ten points, and the drawing gave details of hooks and eyes, and supports (strings). It was used for the first time in the exhibition of the RBA in 1886. The fullest description was given in Truth on 6 May 1886:

'A kind of awning was suspended under the skylight, in order to exclude the glare of white light, which would not have been harmonious with the scheme of colour. This drapery was made of some soft material, which matched, as nearly as possible, brown paper, and was suspended in pretty folds by means of brass hooks, hung by cords to the skylight.'

The walls of the gallery were of a sepia shade of brown, and the ceiling pale brown and gold. The scheme was flattering to the spectators but Truth did not comment on the effect it had on the pictures. The St James Gazette doubted 'whether an awning looped up with promiscuous strings is in place in this symmetrical room'.

Technique

Velarium, The Hunterian

The original pencil drawing extends below the final version, as does the top of the bottom hook. The velarium was tinted a creamy yellow, with a brownish shadow, and the butterfly, slightly orange. All the drawing was done with brush over pencil, while the hooks and strings were painted in grey/black. The paper is a heavy-weight cartridge.

History

Provenance

• 1953: owned by a private collector, USA.
• 1962-1966: with the Nordness Galleries, New York.
• 1974: sold at auction, Sotheby's, London, 18 February 1974 (lot 49) and bought by the Fine Art Society;
• 1974: bought by the University of Glasgow.

The early history is unknown. Further details are given in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1122).

Exhibitions

It was not, as far as is known, exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 1122) as 'Velarium'.

Newspapers 1855-1905

• Truth, London, 6 May 1886.
• St James Gazette, London, 1 December 1886.

Books on Whistler

• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 2 vols, London and Philadelphia, 1908, vol. 2, p. 69.
• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Whistler Journal, Philadelphia, 1921, p. 305.
• Bendix, Deanna Marohn, Diabolical Designs: Paintings, Interiors, and Exhibitions of James McNeill Whistler, Washington and London, 1995, pp. 237-38, 242-43, 245-46, 262-64.

Catalogues 1906-Present

EXHIBITION:

• Dorment, Richard, and Margaret F. MacDonald, James McNeill Whistler, Tate Gallery, London, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, and National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1994-1995 (cat. no. 93).
• Andreeva, Galina, and Margaret F. MacDonald, Whistler and Russia, State Tretyakow Gallery, Moscow, 2006, pp. 100, 187 (cat. no. 112), repr. p. 100.
• James McNeill Whistler, Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art 2014, Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool, 2014 (no catalogue).

SALE:

• Sotheby's, London, 18 February 1974 (lot 49).

Websites

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