The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.1321
Pink and Purple
Date
Pink and Purple was exhibited in Glasgow in 1892 but may well have dated from earlier.
It was catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1321).
Images
Pink and Purple, Whereabouts unknown
Violet and Gold, The Hunterian
Subject
Description
The title Pink and Purple suggests a figure composition or single draped figure.
On 2 April 1892 the Glasgow Herald mentioned details:
' "Violet and Yellow" (No. 692) and "Pink and Purple" (No. 695) are drawings which cannot be said to be specially distinctive. The girls are not ravishingly beautiful, and would pass unnoticed in a crowd. Moreover, ... the pink and purple, with all deference to the artist, are practically non-existent. Mr Whistler's purple is black in ordinary light.'
Violet and Gold, The Hunterian
The first mentioned was probably Violet and Gold m1292, which may mean that Pink and Purple was a similar subject.
Technique
Technique
Unknown.
History
Provenance
Unknown.
Exhibitions
- 1892: 31st Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, Glasgow, 1892 (cat. no. 695) as 'Pink and Purple'.
On 30 January 1892 the Dundee Advertiser called it 'beautiful' and 'full of the refinement which distinguishes the best work of this much-criticized artist', which hardly helps to identify it. On 2 April the Glasgow Herald was a little more helpful:
'… The girls are not ravishingly beautiful, and would pass unnoticed in a crowd. Moreover, ... the pink and purple, with all deference to the artist, are practically non-existent. Mr Whistler's purple is black in ordinary light. But why nmake a fuss about so slight a matter, or, indeed, about anything at all, when J. M'Neil Whistler or his art is in question.'
Bibliography
Catalogues Raisonnés
- MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 1321) as 'Pink and Purple'.
Catalogues 1855-1905
- 31st Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, Glasgow, 1892 (cat. no. 695) as 'Pink and Purple'.
Newspapers 1855-1905
- Anon., 'Glasgow Fine Art Exhibition', Dundee Advertiser, Dundee, 30 January 1892, p.4.
- Anon., 'Fine-Art Institute', Glasgow Herald, Glasgow, 2 April 1892, p. 9.