The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.1144
Sketchbook
Date
San Biagio, and pots, Sketchbook, The Hunterian, inside back cover
The final sketch in this book (or the first if one starts from the other end) shows the etching San Biagio [237], which was drawn in Venice in 1880, but the sketch probably dates from 1886/1887 when it was printed and published with the 'Second Venice Set'.
Children, Sketchbook, p. 24, The Hunterian
Naval Review, p. 11, Sketchbook, The Hunterian
This Sketchbook mainly dates from 1887. Several drawings relate to prints including the lithograph Churchyard c021, and etchings of Queen Victoria's Jubilee Naval Review, in 1887.
The sketchbook is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1144).
Images
Sketchbook, front cover, The Hunterian
Designs, including a valance, and feather, Sketchbook, The Hunterian, inside front cover
Church, Sketchbook, The Hunterian, p. 1
Boats at anchor, Sketchbook, p. 2, The Hunterian
Street with horse-drawn cart, Sketchbook, p. 3, The Hunterian
Two women standing, Sketchbook, p. 4, The Hunterian
Head of a young girl, Sketchbook, p. 5, The Hunterian
Donkeys and a cat, Sketchbook, p. 7, The Hunterian
Street with people, Sketchbook, p. 9, The Hunterian
Naval Review, Sketchbook, p. 11, The Hunterian
Naval Review, Sketchbook, p. 13, The Hunterian
Village, Sketchbook, p. 16, The Hunterian
Coast with boats, Sketchbook, p. 17, The Hunterian
Landscape with cornfield, Sketchbook, p. 21, The Hunterian
A domed church, Sketchbook, p. 23, The Hunterian
Children, Sketchbook, p. 24, The Hunterian
Horse, Sketchbook, p. 28, The Hunterian
Donkeys, Sketchbook, p. 37, The Hunterian
Boats on a river, Sketchbook, p. 39, The Hunterian
Landscape with windmills, p. 47, Sketchbook, The Hunterian
Landscape with a windmill, Sketchbook, p. 49, The Hunterian
Boats on a canal, Sketchbook, p. 51, The Hunterian
Boat sailing on a canal, Sketchbook, p. 53, The Hunterian
Landscape with a canal and a windmill, Sketchbook, p. 55, The Hunterian
St Bartholomews, Sketchbook, p. 57, The Hunterian
Cottage Place, Charles Square, p. 74, Sketchbook, The Hunterian
Sketchbook, p. 75, The Hunterian
Blossom, Sketchbook, p. 77, The Hunterian
Two people at a cafe table, Sketchbook, p. 78, The Hunterian
Man seated at a cafe table, Sketchbook, p. 80, The Hunterian
Cafe Interior, Sketchbook, p. 81, The Hunterian
San Biagio, and pots, Sketchbook, The Hunterian, inside back cover
Churchyard, lithograph, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Subject
Site
St Bartholomews, Sketchbook, p. 57, The Hunterian
Landscape with a windmill, Sketchbook, p. 49, The Hunterian
It includes views of England (London and the south coast), Holland, and possibly of France as well, as well as showing an etching of San Biagio, Venice.
Technique
Composition
St Bartholomews, Sketchbook, p. 57, The Hunterian
Churchyard, lithograph, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
This sketch is closely related to the lithograph Churchyard c021.
Naval Review, Sketchbook, p. 11, The Hunterian
Naval Review, Sketchbook, p. 13, The Hunterian
The tentative pencil sketches of Queen Victoria's Naval Review in 1887 are not studies for the etchings, though some – Troopships [307] and The Turret Ship [305] for instance – also show the naval ships in the distance.
Technique
The off-white (browned) canvas covered sketchbook, with a pencil holder, originally contained 82 sides of cream wove paper. Some of these have been removed. The paper has a fine grain running the length of the paper and, at a slight diagonal, a wider spaced, ripply grain.
Landscape with windmills, Sketchbook, p. 47, The Hunterian
Village, Sketchbook, p. 16, The Hunterian
Most of the drawings are in pencil, but one Dutch scene was drawn in sharply defined pen and ink, and there are several tiny, expressively painted, watercolours, also of the Netherlands. A few, such as the watercolour above, are signed with a butterfly.
History
Provenance
- 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death and bequeathed to his sister-in-law Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958);
- 1958: bequeathed by Miss Birnie Philip to the University of Glasgow.
Exhibitions
It was not 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. 1144) as 'Sketchbook'.
Books on Whistler
- Heijbroek, J. F., and Margaret F. MacDonald, Whistler and Holland, Zwolle and Amsterdam, 1997, p. 96, repr. pl. XVIII and XIX.
Websites
- The Hunterian website at http://collections.gla.ac.uk.
- Lithograph Churchyard at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC website at nga.gov.