The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.1264
r.: Butterfly; v.: Part of a butterfly
Date
r.: Butterfly; v.: Part of a butterfly date from 1890/1892.
r.: Butterfly, Library of Congress
They are catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1264).
Images
r.: Butterfly, Library of Congress
v.: Part of a butterfly, not reproduced.
Subject
Description
r.: Butterfly, Library of Congress
The butterfly derives from Whistler's monogram 'JW', with, in addition, a barbed tail curving up at left. It is a design for Whistler 1892 [more]. A cut-out butterfly from the first edition of The Gentle Art of Making Enemies is stuck on the recto.
Technique
Composition
r.: Butterfly, Library of Congress
A design for Whistler 1892 [more]. The butterfly is rolling about laughing at a statement by John Ruskin (1819-1900), '...There is no stone drawing, no vitality of architecture like Prout's.', which Whistler used for the catalogue entry on Nocturne: Blue and Gold - St Mark's, Venice y213.
History
Provenance
- 1890/1892: probably sent by Whistler to William Heinemann (1863-1920), London publisher.
- 1917/1921: given by Elizabeth Robins Pennell (1855-1936) and Joseph Pennell (1860-1926) to the Library of Congress.
For further details see MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1261).
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. 1264) as 'r.: Butterfly; v.: Part of a butterfly'.
Authored by Whistler
- Whistler, James McNeill, The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, 2nd edition, London and New York, 1892, repr. p. 321.
Websites
- Library of Congress website at https://www.loc.gov.