The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Butterfly for ‘Noblesse abuse!’ was drawn 1898/1899 as an illustration for Whistler 1899 (F)[more].

Butterfly for ‘Noblesse abuse!’, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin, TX

It is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1549).

Images

Subject

Description

Butterfly for ‘Noblesse abuse!’, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin, TX

A butterfly with a long tail trailing to left and antennae curving to right, inscribed 'Noblesse abuse'.

Comments

In 1894 William Eden (1849-1915) commissioned a portrait of his wife Sybil Frances Grey, Lady Eden (1867-1945). Whistler, dissatisfied with the amount (100gns) and manner of payment, retained and altered the portrait (Brown and Gold: Portrait of Lady Eden y408). After an appeal, in December 1897, the Court de Cassation let him retain the portrait but return the money. Whistler was well satisfied to see the Code Napoléon altered, to specify an artist's right to decide the fate of his works.

Whistler planned to publish an account of the affair, a compilation of letters, newspaper reports and legal documents, with William Heinemann (1863-1920), who had published the Gentle Art of Making Enemies in 1890. There was some problem with publishing in London, and, with Heinemann’s tacit agreement, Louis-Henry May in Paris took over the publication. A first proof was run off, using mainly butterflies originally drawn for the Gentle Art of Making Enemies. These butterflies were mostly replaced by new ones, in a second proof. There are at least two versions of some of the designs. They were slightly reduced in size in the final publication.

For the book, Whistler designed 15 butterflies, a club (A club on a cushion m1564), and a frog (Frog m1553). He also drew some butterflies which were not used (v.: Butterfly; r.: see No. 1268 m1572, Butterfly with chequered wings m1578, r.: Butterfly; v.: Butterfly with chequered wings m1579). The Baronet and the Butterfly was comparatively sparing of butterflies. Many marginal annotations, which in the Gentle Art of Making Enemies would have warranted a butterfly, did not get one. Some of the butterflies were very badly reproduced (r. and v.: Butterfly m1561, r.: Butterfly 'Encountered'; v.: Butterfly m1562). There were obviously publication problems, and it was not an entirely satisfactory venture. However, Whistler did not admit of criticism and seems, publicly, to have been entirely satisfied with the outcome.

Technique

Composition

Butterfly for ‘Noblesse abuse!’, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin, TX

"Noblesse abuse!", Eden versus Whistler: The Baronet and the Butterfly, Glasgow University Library

A different butterfly, with a short wriggly tail, left curving antennae and large shaded wings, was published in Whistler 1899 (F)[more].

Technique

A butterfly drawn with wavering lines in pen and ink. There are also some blue crayon marks.

Conservation History

There is a hole in the paper and an uneven edge at left.

History

Provenance

• Date unknown: acquired by Dr Thomas Edward Hanley (1839-1969), Bradford, Pennsylvania;
• 1957: acquired as part of the T. E. Hanley Collection by the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin.

The early provenance is unknown.

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. 1549) as "Butterfly for ‘Noblesse abuse!’ ".

Authored by Whistler

• Whistler, James McNeill, Eden versus Whistler: The Baronet and the Butterfly. A Valentine with a Verdict, Paris: Louis-Henry May, 1899, p. i.