The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

A Sketchbook containing 34 drawings, started in Domburg in the autumn of 1900, and mainly used in Algiers during the winter of 1900-1901.

Front cover, sketchbook, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

Domburg, sketchbook (p. 3), The Hunterian

Courtyard with two figures, Algiers, sketchbook (p. 29), The Hunterian

It is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1643).

Images

Subject

Description

Front cover, sketchbook, The Hunterian

This sketchbook contains 36 drawings, starting with Domburg in August 1900 (see Sea and Sand; Domburg m1612), and going on to Tangier and Algiers, in December 1900. By bad luck, North Africa proved wet and cold. Whistler returned, ill, to Marseilles, and stayed there for two weeks. Eventually, in January 1901, he went on to Corsica.

Glasses standing on a window ledge, sketchbook (p. 1), The Hunterian

p. 1: Glasses standing on a window ledge. Pen and black ink.

p. 2: (v. of 1) Inscribed ‘Mitcham - Eagle House -/ Raleigh - Iron Gates’

Domburg, sketchbook (p. 3), The Hunterian

p.3: Domburg. Pencil, pen and black ink, signed with butterfly, inscribed ‘Domburg’. There is some pen hatching to right, unconnected with the drawing. Whistler was in Domburg in the summer of 1900. It is on an island near Middleburg and Flushing.

Woman, sketchbook (p. 4), The Hunterian

p. 4: (v. of 3) Woman. Pencil. The figure is full length, a rough sketch, partly rubbed out. As well as the woman, there appears to be the top of a head, unfinished; both were slightly shaded diagonally.

Figures on a beach, sketchbook (p. 5), The Hunterian

p. 5: Figures on a beach. Pencil. A faint drawing of a windy day by the sea.

Girl bending over a table and a small figure, sketchbook (p. 6), The Hunterian

p. 6: (v. of 5) Girl bending over a table, and a small figure. Pencil. There are two sketches of the girl at work, stretching out over the table, and a separate sketch of a small figure.

Girl ironing, sketchbook (p. 7), The Hunterian

p. 7: Girl ironing. Pencil. This is the same girl as on p. 6, plus a study of her head, and several small heads.

Man sitting in a doorway, Algiers, sketchbook (p. 9), The Hunterian

p. 9: Man sitting in a doorway, Algiers. Pencil. Clothes are hanging up in the door and lying on the ground, and there are awnings over two doors. It was drawn over a faint, larger scale, head the other way up, and possibly a small figure as well.

Seated woman, sketchbook (p. 10), The Hunterian

p. 10 (v. of 9) Seated woman. Pencil. She is seated with her left arm straight behind her, her right hand to her chin, and the costume shows fashionable puffed sleeves and a high narrow waist. It is a faint pencil sketch, rubbed out.

Study of Algerian clothes, sketchbook (p. 11), The Hunterian

p. 11: Study of Algerian Clothes. Pencil. An incomplete outline.

Illegible (sketch of folds?), sketchbook (p. 12), The Hunterian

p. 12 (v. of 11): Illegible lines, possibly a sketch of folds. Pencil.

pp. 13-20: Removed, traces of brown ink on remnant of p.13.

Street scene with a man riding a mule, sketchbook (p. 21), The Hunterian

p. 21: Street scene with a man riding a mule. Pencil, signed with butterfly. It shows figures walking and sitting, in a street of single storey houses, with bigger buildings and a dark sky beyond.

Market stall, sketchbook (p. 23), The Hunterian

p. 23: Market stall. Pencil

Part of a figure, sketchbook (p. 25), The Hunterian

p. 25: Part of a figure. Pencil.

Two robed men talking, sketchbook (p. 26), The Hunterian

p. 26 (v. of 25): Two robed men talking, Algiers. Pencil.

Courtyard with two figures, Algiers, sketchbook (p. 29), The Hunterian

p. 29: Courtyard with two figures, Algiers. Pencil. Two men, one seated under a window by a door.

Robed figure, sketchbook (p. 31), The Hunterian

p. 31: Robed figure, Algiers. Pencil.

Market in Algiers, sketchbook (p. 32), The Hunterian

p.3 2: (v. of 31) Market in Algiers. Pencil, signed with butterfly. A vigorous, effective, sketch of figures in front of a stall.

Robed man facing right, sketchbook (p. 33), The Hunterian

p. 33: Robed man facing right. Pencil. An incomplete sketch.

Robed figure seen from the back, sketchbook (p. 34), The Hunterian

p. 34 (v. of 33): Robed figure seen from the back. Pencil. Half length, hooded.

Mules in front of arches, sketchbook (p. 36), The Hunterian

p. 36: Mules in front of arches, Algiers. Pencil. Three arches, figures in left arch, two mules in front.

Illegible sketch, sketchbook (p. 38), The Hunterian

pp. 37-8: A quickly abandoned sketch. Pencil.

Donkey’s head, sketchbook (p. 39), The Hunterian

p. 39: Donkey’s head. Pencil. Unfinished.

Men with donkeys, sketchbook (p. 40), The Hunterian

p. 40: (v. of 39) Men with donkeys, Algiers. Pencil. This could be a larger version of p. 43.

A woman, a hooded figure, and a donkey’s head, sketchbook (p. 41), The Hunterian

p. 41: A woman, a hooded figure and a donkey’s head. Pencil. The drawing shows a room with cupboards, an arched niche and shelves.

Men and donkeys, sketchbook (p. 43), The Hunterian

p. 43: Men and donkeys, Algiers. Pencil. There are more figures, on a smaller scale, but similar to those on p. 40.

pp. 45-8: removed

pp. 49-52: torn

Girl at a table, sketchbook (p. 54), The Hunterian

p. 54: Girl at a table. Pencil, signed with butterfly. A sketch, possibly unfinished, of a girl with a scarf round her head, similar to pp. 6-7.

Figures at a table, sketchbook (p. 56), The Hunterian

p. 56: Figures at a table. Pencil. The figures are European, but could still have been drawn in Algiers, and like several others in the book, have been partially rubbed out. The woman wears a hat and a cape.

People on a ship, sketchbook (p. 60), The Hunterian

p. 60: People on a ship. Pen and brown ink. A vivid sketch, probably done on the ship to or from Algiers, and including a piratical figure, with a patch over his eye.

Ship’s deck and rigging, sketchbook (p. 61), The Hunterian

p. 61: Ship's deck and rigging. Pen and brown ink. This sketch is similar to At Sea m1642.

Street scene, Algiers, sketchbook (p. 68), The Hunterian

p. 68: Street scene, Algiers. Pencil. A faint and unfinished drawing of figures walking under awnings, an arched window in the wall beyond, an arcade with overhanging awnings.

Bazaar, Algiers, sketchbook (p. 69), The Hunterian

p. 69: Bazaar, Algiers. Pencil. The drawing is neat and expressive of movement and light. It is a busy scene, drawn in some detail, comparable to Scene in the Market, Algiers m1646 and Shops (Algiers) m1647.

Figure, sketchbook (p. 70), The Hunterian

p.70 (v. of 69): Figure. Pencil.

Two women standing, sketchbook (p. 71), The Hunterian

p. 71: Two women standing. Pencil. A faint drawing of a European woman with her hair arranged in a bun.

Two figures, sketchbook (p. 72), The Hunterian

p. 72 (v. of 71): Two figures. Pencil. A robed figure standing on the left, another faint figure, possibly a woman, on the right.

Figures, sketchbook (p. 73), The Hunterian

p. 73: Figures. Pencil. The figures appear to have been drawn within a frame. The drawings on pp. 73-4 are upside down compared to the earlier drawings, showing that the sketchbook was used from both ends.

Figure compositions, sketchbook (p. 74), The Hunterian

p. 74 (v. of 73): Figure compositions. Pencil. Three framed compositions, two showing figures at a table.

Site

Domburg, sketchbook (p. 3), The Hunterian

Domburg, in the Netherlands. Whistler was in Domburg in the summer of 1900.

Man sitting in a doorway, Algiers, sketchbook (p. 9), The Hunterian

Bazaar, Algiers, sketchbook (p. 69), The Hunterian

Algiers, Algeria, North Africa.

Sitter

Girl bending over a table and a small figure, sketchbook (p. 6), The Hunterian

Girl ironing, sketchbook (p. 7), The Hunterian

Several figure drawings may have been done in Domburg or Marseilles.

Two robed men talking, sketchbook (p. 26), The Hunterian

There are a number of North African figures represented.

Technique

Technique

Ship’s deck and rigging, sketchbook (p. 61), The Hunterian

Bazaar, Algiers, sketchbook (p. 69), The Hunterian

Most of the drawings are in graphite pencil, but a couple are in ink. See MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1643)

Conservation History

Front cover, sketchbook, The Hunterian

A number of sheets in the book have been removed (pp. 13-20, 45-8) but there are traces of ink on p. 13. It is likely that drawings were removed by Miss R. Birnie Philip. She sold over fifty drawings , including ones, like Steps in Algiers m1644 and The Traders m1649, which were obviously taken from sketchbooks. In Sketchbook m1643, the sheets are 145 mm (5 11/16") in length to the staple - so that the drawings as sold could be less than 86 x 145 mm (3 3/8 x 5 11/16"). The paper has a regular rough bumpy grain.

History

Provenance

• 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death, and bequeathed to his ward and executrix, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958) ;
• 1958: bequeathed by Miss R. Birnie Philip to the University of Glasgow.

Exhibitions

It was not exhibited.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 1643) as 'Sketchbook'.

Journals 1906-Present

• MacInnes, Margaret F., [M. F. MacDonald], 'Whistler's Last Years: Spring 1901 - Algiers and Corsica', Gazette des beaux-arts, vol. 73, 1969, pp. 323-42, at pp. 323-26, 339 note 5, repr. fig. 2-3.

Websites

• The Hunterian, University of Glasgow website at collections.gla.ac.uk.