The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Portrait of George Vanderbilt dates from between June 1897, when George Washington Vanderbilt (1862-1914) first sat for his portrait, Portrait of George W. Vanderbilt y481, and 1902.

Portrait of George Vanderbilt, The Hunterian

It is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1505).

Images

Subject

Sitter

Portrait of George Vanderbilt, The Hunterian

George Washington Vanderbilt (1862-1914).

Technique

Composition

Portrait of George Vanderbilt, The Hunterian

Portrait of George W. Vanderbilt, National Gallery of Art, DC

This is probably a study for (rather than a drawing of) Portrait of George W. Vanderbilt y481. The legs are further apart and the left leg not so far forward as in the oil.

Technique

The drawing is faint, the lines, disjointed, and the head has been partly rubbed out. However, the area below has been filled with careful diagonal shading.

Conservation History

The sketch is on cartridge paper, which has a neat diagonal grain, and has probably darkened. It may have been removed from a sketchbook.

History

Provenance

• 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death and bequeathed to his sister-in-law and executrix, 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. 1505) as 'Portrait of George Vanderbilt'.

Websites

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