The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain dates from 1876. ¹

Whistler asked Henry Irving (1838-1905) to pose after seeing him as Philip II (1527-1598) of Spain in Tennyson's historical drama Queen Mary, which had a brief run at the Lyceum Theatre, London, from 18 April to 13 May 1876. The portrait was seen in an early state on 1 May 1876 by Alan Summerly Cole (1846-1934), who wrote in his diary, 'To Whistler who had painted some living portraits most rapidly - one of Irving as Philip. J. W. quite and madly enthusiastic about his power of painting such full lengths in two sittings or so.' ²

Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Irving told Mortimer Luddington Menpes (1860-1938) that after twenty sittings, the canvas was 'swept and bare, except for a small piece of linen', but, said Whistler, 'who save the Master could have painted that linen?' ³

During The Grasshopper, a farce by John Hollingshead (1827-1904) performed at the Gaiety Theatre from 1877-1878, a painting by Gordon Thompson called The Apotheosis of Henry Irving, after Whistler was shown on stage in the studio of Pygmalion Flippit, 'An Artist of the Future' described as being a 'Harmonist in colours - in black and white, for example'. Whistler went several times to the play, enjoying Flippit's performance as well as the legs of Ellen ('Nellie') Farren (1848-1904). ⁴

In May 1885 Whistler wrote asking Irving to visit the Society of British Artists to 'see my picture of Sarasate - and let that show you what I meant your picture to be', and then arrange sittings 'for a day or two at my new studio' to complete it. ⁵ However, it is unlikely that any further work was done on the portrait at this time.

Images

Subject

Titles

Several variations on the title have been suggested:

• 'Arrangement in Black, No. 2 Henry Irving as Philip 3 [sic] of Spain' (1876/1877, Whistler). ⁶
• 'Arrangement in Black No. 3 Portrait of Henry Irving - as Philip II' (1876/1877, Whistler). ⁷
• 'Arrangement in Black No. 3. Irving as Philip II of Spain' (1877, Grosvenor). ⁸
• 'Sir Henry Irving as Philip' (1897, Grafton). ⁹
• 'Arrangement in Black No. 3: Portrait of Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain' (1905, ISSPG). ¹⁰
• 'Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain' (1980, YMSM). ¹¹

The preferred title is 'Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain'.

The 'Arrangements in Black' are numbered, not entirely consistently, as follows:

• Arrangement in Black: Portrait of F. R. Leyland was the first in Whistler's series of 'Arrangements in Black'.
• In the Pall Mall exhibition of 1874 Arrangement in Black, No. 2: Portrait of Mrs Louis Huth y125) was exhibited specifically as 'No. 2' in the series.
• A photograph of Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain was mistakenly labelled by Whistler as 'Arrangement in Black, No. 2', but it was exhibited several times as 'Arrangement in Black, No. 3'.
• However, Arrangement in Black and Brown: The Fur Jacket y181 was exhibited as 'Arrangement in Black, No. 3' in 1888-1889, and the drawing of Whistler's drawing of it, Arrangement in Black - No. 3 m0851, was also given that title.
• No painting seems to have been listed or exhibited as 'Arrangement in Black, No. 4'.
• Arrangement in Brown and Black: Portrait of Miss Rosa Corder y203 and Arrangement in Black: La Dame au brodequin jaune - Portrait of Lady Archibald Campbell y242) were both called at different times 'Arrangement in Black, No. 5' or 'Arrangement in Black, No. 7'.
• A portrait of Maud Franklin (1857-1939) (Harmony in Black and Red y236) was the only painting called 'Arrangement in Black, No. 6'.
• No. 7 is mentioned above; next came Arrangement in Black, No. 8: Portrait of Mrs Cassatt y250.
• No. 9 has not been identified.
• There was no 'Arrangement in Black, No. 10', but there was a Harmony in Black, No. 10 y357, which may have been intended as part of the series.

Description

Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

A full length portrait, in vertical format, of a man in black and white theatrical costume. He stands facing the viewer, with his legs well apart, in black and white striped breeks above white tights. He wears a short black cloak trimmed with white, and his right hand emerges to clasp a gold chain across his breast. He wears a black doublet trimmed with gold. His tall black hat bears a white feather plume. He casts a shadow back and to right across a dark grey floor that merges into a black background.

Sitter

J. J. Foster, Sir Henry Irving, Dickinson Bros & Foster, albumen cabinet card, 1876, National Portrait Gallery, NPG x12128

Henry Irving (1838-1905) (John Henry Brodribb) was director and manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London for many years. Henry Irving was his stage name. After a highly successful career he was knighted in 1895. He appeared as Philip II in Tennyson's unsuccessful historical drama Queen Mary, staged at the Lyceum Theatre, London, from 18 April to 13 May 1876.

According to Ellen Terry (1847-1928), 'the sitter never cared much about the portrait. Henry had a strange affection for the wrong pictures of himself ... Whistler's Philip probably seemed to him not nearly showy enough.' ¹²

Irving himself apologised for infringing Whistler's copyright when he reproduced an early photograph of the painting in The Drama: Addresses by Sir Henry Irving, London, 1893. ¹³

Comments

In 1879 the art critic Frederick Wedmore (1844-1921) called the portrait 'a murky caricature of Velasquez - an effort in which the sketchiness of the master remained, but the decisiveness of the master was wanting'. ¹⁴

Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Julius Meier-Graefe (1867-1935) made a comparison between the portrait of Irving and Portrait de Faure dans le rôle de Hamlet by Edouard Manet (1832-1883) (Museum Folkwang, Essen), which was exhibited at the Salon in 1877 (cat. no. 1415), although it is not known if either of the painters could have seen the other's painting in 1876 or 1877. ¹⁵ In pose and composition Whistler's Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain is closer to an earlier portrait by Manet of Philibert Rouvière, L'Acteur tragique (National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC) of 1865, which Whistler could have seen in Paris in 1867.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art website comments:

'Whistler's portrait of the great Victorian actor Henry Irving (1838–1895) recalls Diego Velázquez's court portraits in its format, pose, and restricted palette of black, white, silvery grays, and golden ochers. Whistler had been impressed by Irving's 1876 appearance in the role of the grandfather of Philip IV, Velázquez's patron, in Alfred Lord Tennyson's verse play Queen Mary Tudor. Discussing Whistler's canvas in 1907, the actress Ellen Terry suggested the associations with Velázquez that the actor and the artist might have had in mind in emulating the Spanish master's style. She observed that Irving, "in his dress without much colour (from the common point of view), his long grey legs, and his Velasquez-like attitudes, looked like the kind of thing which Whistler loved to paint. Velasquez had painted a real Philip of the same race; Whistler would paint the actor who created the Philip of the stage." ' ¹⁶

Anon., Philip II, King of Spain, National Portrait Gallery, NPG 347

It has also been suggested that the source of Irving's own portrayal of Philip could have been portraits of the king by Titian (Tiziano Vecello) (1485-1576) in the Museo Nacional del Prado and Museo e gallerie nazionali di Capodimonte, and the anonymous portrait, Philip II, King of Spain, in the National Portrait Gallery, London. ¹⁷

Artist unknown, Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, 55.49

A portrait head formerly attributed to Whistler, and known as 'Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain', oil on canvas, 48.6 x 36 cm (19 1/8 x 14 3/8"), Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of George S. Hellman, 1955 (55.49), was certainly not painted by Whistler, and may have been the work of Leon Dabo (1868-1960).

Technique

Composition

Velásquez, Pablo de Valladolid, photograph, GUL Whistler PH 3/9

Whistler's technique has been frequently compared to that of Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599-1660), and the pose itself, in reverse, is similar to that of the portrait of Pablo de Valladolid by Velázquez, in the Prado, of which Whistler owned a photograph, and which has also been seen as the source for a self-portrait, Brown and Gold y440.

Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain, early state, 1870s, photograph

Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain, early state, photograph, GUL Whistler PH4/19

Marie Spartali (Mrs W. J. Stillman) (1844-1927) noticed that 'three different outlines of the figure were visible' when Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain y187 was exhibited in 1877. ¹⁸

Photographs of the portrait in an early state are in the Whistler collection in Special Collections, Glasgow University Library, the G. A. Lucas Collection in Baltimore Museum of Art, and the S. P. Avery Collection in New York Public Library. ¹⁹ X-radiographs confirm the evidence of these photographs. The Lucas photograph is inscribed in Whistler's hand: 'Arrangement in Black, No. 2 [sic] Henry Irving as Philip 3 [sic] of Spain'. The Avery photograph is signed with a butterfly of about 1876/1877 and inscribed by Whistler: 'To S. P. Avery, "Arrangement in Black No. 3 Portrait of Henry Irving – as Philip II"/ Whistler/ Present condition – unfinished'; beneath, in another hand, possibly Avery's, '(never finished)'. The Avery photograph clearly shows trickles of paint, especially between Irving's legs and over his foot on the right.

Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Further changes were made to the portrait in the second sittings of about 1885. In the earlier state the sitter does not wear a chain round his neck, and has no garter or shoes. Most strikingly, the cloak, which hung loosely from the shoulders in the earlier state, appears thrown forward over the sitter's right shoulder in the finished composition.

Two drypoints, Irving as Philip of Spain, No. 1 [158] and Irving as Philip of Spain, No. 2 [159], which were possibly started in 1876, and seen by Alan Summerly Cole (1846-1934) in January 1877, relate to the earlier rather than the final state of the composition. ²⁰

The photograph of the portrait reproduced as frontispiece to The Drama: Addresses by Henry Irving in 1893 appears to show the painting in an intermediate state, after which a few touches were added to the chain and to the lower edge of the cloak on the left.

Technique

Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

At the Ruskin-Whistler trial in 1878 Whistler was asked by John Humffrey Parry (1824-1880) if the portrait was 'a finished picture', and replied, 'It is a large impression – a sketch; but it was not intended as a finished picture.' Re-examined on the point, he insisted that it was 'a mere sketch unfinished.' ²¹

It is thinly painted, and rather dark, though the lighter areas – gold on the chain, cloak and the jacket, and white or grey on the breeches and tights – are painted boldly, with sweeping broad-brush curves. The face is carefully modelled and more soft, with the features delineated precisely with smaller brushes, and white highlights on his eyes. The feathers in the hat are also painted with a small brush, but with expressive, freely curving strokes.

Conservation History

It was painted on a dark ground and it has darkened slightly. There is also some cracking overall and slight abrasion at the edges.

Frame

Wall of exhibition in Bradford, 1904, from Pennell 1921, f.p. 150

Flat Whistler frame, with alterations, ca 1900 [12 cm]. ²²

History

Provenance

• 1878: bought from Whistler by Charles Augustus Howell (1840?-1890), London;
• by 1885: with H. Graves & Co., London;
• ca 1890: sold by Graves to Henry Irving (1838-1905), London;
• 1905: sold at auction, Christie's, London, 16 December 1905 (lot 148) and bought by Stevens & Brown, London dealers, on behalf of A. Howard Ritter (1861-1936) of Philadelphia;
• 1906: George Clifford Thomas Sr (1839-1909) of Philadelphia;
• 1909: after Thomas's death, exhibited by his heirs at Blakeslee's sale galleries, New York;
• 1910: bought by Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919), Detroit;
• 1910: sold by Freer to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

The painting's provenance, as given above, is broadly accurate but the details, given below, reveal that it is complex and sometimes confusing.

In November 1878 Whistler stated that the portrait was in his possession. ²³ The Pennells state that Charles Augustus Howell (1840?-1890) bought the portrait from Whistler, and imply that this was at the time of his bankruptcy (he was declared bankrupt in May 1879):

'The portrait was not a commission. It is said that Irving refused the small price Whistler asked for it, but later, seeing his legs sticking out from under a pile of canvases in a Wardour Street shop, recognised them and bought the picture for ten guineas. Mr. Bram Stoker writes that, at the time of the bankruptcy. Whistler sold it to Irving "for either twenty or forty pounds – I forget which." The facts are that Whistler sold the Irving to Howell, for "ten pounds and a sealskin coat," Howell recorded in his diary, and that from him it passed into the hands of Mr. Graves, the printseller in Pall Mall, who sold it to Irving for one hundred pounds. After Irving's death, it came up for sale at Christie's, and fetched five thousand pounds, becoming the property of Mr. Thomas, of Philadelphia.' ²⁴

The Pennells' statement is confirmed in Whistler's bankruptcy papers in 1879, when James Waddell (1838-1892), the trustee, gave Howell permission to remove pictures from Whistler's studio, which Howell listed as including 'full length portrait of Henry Irving '. ²⁵ The printseller Algernon Graves (1845-1922) wrote that it was 'sold at Mr. Howell's sale, after his death' to Sir Henry Irving, but the portrait does not appear in the Howell sale catalogue (Christie's, London, 13 November 1890). Furthermore, the firm of H. Graves & Co. had acquired the portrait by 1885. ²⁶

In May of that same year, Whistler implied that he had the portrait and asked Irving for a few more sittings. ²⁷ However, in August Whistler wrote to the artist William Merritt Chase (1849-1916) that he wanted to retrieve several paintings from Graves; these, according to Chase's biographer, K. M. Roof, included the portrait of Irving. ²⁸

Jacques Émile Blanche (1861-1942) wrote that he saw the portrait in Whistler's studio in Tite Street in 1884: unfortunately, his dating is not always accurate. ²⁹

An alternative account derives from Louis Baury, who thought, wrongly, that Whistler had painted Irving in the role of Hamlet. Baury stated that Irving had told him:

'[Whistler] insisted ... upon disregarding both Hamlet and me and treating us simply as an "arrangement." It seemed to me that he made the Prince even more vague than some people seem to imagine the poet has drawn him, but because the portrait was what it was, and partly, too, because it was the work of a celebrated artist – I decided to buy it. Whistler named a price so exorbitant that I doubt if any one would have paid it. When I offered a more modest sum he became indignant ... about four months later I happened to be poking about an out-of-the-way art shop ... what should I come across but Whistler's portrait of me as Hamlet, lying face up on the floor ... the dealer ... named a price that was about one-quarter what I'd offered Whistler, and ... that portrait's hanging in my London home today.' ³⁰

According to Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919), he 'had an opportunity to buy [the portrait] directly from Sir Henry Irving, but Mr. Whistler did not want to see Irving realize any considerable sum ... and ... requested me not to buy, although I could have secured it for almost nothing.' ³¹ After Irving's death it was offered, through London dealers, to C. L. Freer, but he was not interested, and it was sold at auction, where, Freer said, 'the price scared me off.' ³²

After a rapturous reception, and frenzied bidding, it was sold at auction at Christie's on 16 December 1905 (lot 148) for 4800 guineas. ³³ It was bought by Stevens & Brown on behalf of the attorney Abraham Howard Ritter of Philadelphia. ³⁴ According to the American Art News, it was acquired by the banker, collector and philanthropist George Clifford Thomas, also of Philadelphia, in the following year. ³⁵ After Thomas's death his heirs put it on exhibition at Blakeslee's sale galleries in New York in 1909, and in March 1910 C. L. Freer made an offer of £2500 for it, which was finally accepted on 14 April. ³⁶ Freer then offered the portrait for the same price to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and after some consideration his offer was accepted. ³⁷ By 20 May 1910 it was recorded as purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Exhibitions

• 1877: I Summer Exhibition, Grosvenor Gallery, London, 1877 (cat. no. 7 in West Gallery) as 'Arrangement in Black No. 3. Irving as Philip II of Spain'.
• 1889: Retrospective Exhibition, College for Working Men and Women, London, 1889 (no catalogue; Evening News, GUL Whistler PC 10, p. 91).
• 1897: Dramatic and Musical Art, Grafton Galleries, London, 1897 (cat. no. 137) as 'Sir Henry Irving as Philip'.
• 1899: A Loan Collection of Modern Paintings, Leinster Hall, Dublin, 1899 (cat. no. 78) as 'Portrait of Sir Henry Irving as Philip II'.
• 1904: 78th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, 1904 (cat. no. 252).
• 1904: City of Bradford Exhibition, Bradford, 1904 (ex. cat.).
• 1905: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905 (cat. no. 27) as 'Portrait of Sir Henry Irving as Philip of Spain', and in the deluxe edition as 'Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Portrait of Sir Henry Irving as Philip II. of Spain'.

The review by Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) in 1877 affords an interesting insight into the appearance of the painting and the realism of the representation:

'No. 7 is called "Arrangement in Black No. 3," apparently some pseudonym for our greatest living actor, for out of black smudgy clouds comes looming the gaunt figure of Mr. Henry Irving, with the yellow hair and pointed beard, the ruff, short cloak, and tight hose in which he appeared as Philip II. in Tennyson’s play of Queen Mary. One hand is thrust into his breast and his legs are stuck wide apart, in a queer stiff position that Mr. Irving often adopts preparatory to one of his long wolf-like strides across the stage. The figure is life-size, and though apparently one-armed, is so ridiculously like the original that one cannot help almost laughing when one sees it. And we may imagine that anyone who had the misfortune to be shut up at night in the Grosvenor Gallery would hear this "Arrangement in Black No. 3" murmuring, in the well-known Lyceum accents –

“By St. James, I do protest / Upon the faith and honour of a Spaniard,/ I am vastly grieved to leave your Majesty./ Simon, is supper ready?” ' ³⁸

The Times enquired 'One would like to know how the actor likes being reduced to a mere arrangement.' and added, 'Mr Whistler's full-length arrangements suggest to us a choice between materialized spirits and figures in a London fog.' ³⁹

Because it was among exhibits at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1877, it was discussed during the Ruskin-Whistler trial in 1878, when Whistler, possibly to avoid criticism, described it as 'a large impression – a sketch ... not intended as a finished picture. It was not exhibited as for sale.' ⁴⁰ Albert Joseph Moore (1841-1893) stated in an affidavit, 'Although he has painted better things than the portrait of the actor both before & since, the picture still possesses, in common with all his work, many fine & instructive qualities.' ⁴¹

The unflattering opinion of Whistler's paintings expressed by Henry James (1843-1916) in 1877 – that they had 'no relation whatever to life; they have only relation to painting' – was considerably modified twenty years later when he remarked on Irving's portrait as an 'exquisite image' having 'the charm of a certain degree of melancholy meditation.' ⁴²

It was hung in the Beefsteak Club in Irving's Lyceum Theatre, according to Irving. ⁴³

Wall of exhibition in Bradford, 1904, from Pennell 1921, f.p. 150.

The photograph reproduced above shows the portrait in a major exhibition in the Cartwright Memorial Hall, Bradford, where it dominates a roomful of much smaller scale works, probably Whistler's etchings and lithographs, which formed an important part of the show. ⁴⁴

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• Young, Andrew McLaren, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer, and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, 1980 (cat. no. 187), plates 128, 407-08, as 'Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain'.
• Margaret F. MacDonald, Grischka Petri, Meg Hausberg, and Joanna Meacock, James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonné, University of Glasgow, 2012, website at http://etchings.arts.gla.ac.uk (G.158-59).

Authored by Whistler

• Whistler, James McNeill, The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, London, 1890, p. 6.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• I Summer Exhibition, Grosvenor Gallery, London, 1877 (cat. no. 7 in West Gallery) as 'Arrangement in Black No. 3. Irving as Philip II of Spain'.
• Retrospective Exhibition, College for Working Men and Women, London, 1889 (no catalogue).
• Dramatic and Musical Art, Grafton Galleries, London, 1897 (cat. no. 137) as 'Sir Henry Irving as Philip'.
• A Loan Collection of Modern Paintings, Leinster Hall, Dublin, 1899 (cat. no. 78) as 'Portrait of Sir Henry Irving as Philip II'.
• 78th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, 1904 (cat. no. 252).
• City of Bradford Exhibition, Bradford, 1904 (ex. cat.).
• Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905 (cat. no. 27) as 'Portrait of Sir Henry Irving as Philip of Spain', and in the deluxe edition as 'Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Portrait of Sir Henry Irving as Philip II. of Spain'.

Newspapers 1855-1905

• Anon., 'The Grosvenor Gallery', The Times, London, 1 May 1877, p. 10.
• Anon., 'The Grosvenor Gallery', Morning Post, London, 1 May 1877, p. 6.
• Anon., 'The Grosvenor Gallery', London Daily News, London, 2 May 1877, p. 6.
• Anon., [Grosvenor Gallery], Tablet, London, 12 May 1877, p. 10.
• Taylor, Tom, 'The Grosvenor Gallery', The Graphic, London, 12 May 1877.
• Anon., 'The Grosvenor Gallery', The Era, London, 13 May 1877, p. 4.
• Anon., [Grosvenor Gallery], Truth, London, 17 May 1877, p. 6.
• Anon., 'The Royal Academy', London Evening Standard, London, 4 May 1878, pp. 5-6.
• Anon., 'Action for Libel against Mr. Ruskin', London Evening Standard, London, 26 November 1878, p. 2.
• Anon., 'Mr Whistler and Mr Ruskin', Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, Leeds, 26 November 1878, p. 8.
• Anon., 'Mr Whistler and Mr Ruskin', Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper, London, 1 December 1878, p. 8.
• Anon., 'Action for Libel', Reynold's Newspaper, London, 1 December 1878, p. 3.
• Anon., 'A Whistler Exhibition', Morning Post, London, 2 May 1889, p. 5.
• Anon., 'An Exhibition of Mr. Whistler's Pictures', St James's Gazette, London, 2 May 1889, p. 13.
• Anon., ['G. T.'], 'A Whistler Exhibition', Pall Mall Gazette, London, 11 May 1889, p. 7.
• Anon., 'The Whistler Exhibition', Evening News, London, 14 May 1889, p. 3.
• Anon., 'Sir H. Irving's Relics', London Evening Standard, London, 7 December 1905, p. 9.
• Anon., 'The Irving Collection', Globe, London, 16 December 1905, p. 7.
• Anon., The Observer, London, 17 December 1905.
• Anon., 'Scene at the Irving Sale', London Evening Standard, London, 18 December 1905, p. 9.
• Anon., Daily Express, London, 18 December 1905.
• Anon., Daily Mail, London, 18 December 1905.
• Anon., '4,800gs. for a Whistler. "Irving" Portrait to go to America,' Daily Telegraph and Courier, London, 18 December 1905, p. 7.
• Anon., 'American takes Whistler's Portrait of Irving', Western Times, 19 December 1905, p. 6.

NOTE: There was huge coverage of the Irving auction, and the references above are a small selection of these. See Luhrs, Kathleen (ed.), American paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. 2, pp. 378-385, and the website of the https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.

Journals 1855-1905

• James, Henry, 'The Grosvenor Gallery and the Royal Academy', The Nation, vol. 24, 31 May 1877, pp. 320-21.
• Wilde, Oscar, 'The Grosvenor Gallery', Dublin University Magazine, vol. 90, no. 535, July 1877, pp. 118-26, at p. 124.
• Wedmore, Frederick, 'Mr Whistler's Theories and Mr Whistler's Art', The Nineteenth Century, vol. 6, no. 30, August 1879, pp. 334-43, at p. 338.
• Sickert, W. R., 'Pictures of Actors', The Speaker, 29 May 1897.
• James, Henry, 'London, June 1st 1897', Harper's Weekly, vol. 41, 26 June 1897, pp. 639-40, at p. 640.
• Anon., 'London Exhibitions', The Art Journal, July 1897, pp. 223-24, repr. p. 223.
• Purser, S. H., [review of Dublin exhibition], Art Journal, London, May 1899, p. 156.
• Graves, Algernon, 'James Abbott McNeill Whistler', Printseller and Print Collector, vol. 1, August 1903, pp. 341-45, at p. 341.
• Bénédite, Léonce, 'Artistes Contemporains: Whistler', Gazette des beaux-arts, vol. 33, 1905, pp. 403-10, 496-511; vol. 34, 1905, pp. 142-58, 231-46, p. 244.
• Blanche, Jacques-Émile, 'James McNeill Whistler', Renaissance Latine, vol. 4, no. 6, 15 June 1905, pp. 353-78, at p. 358.
• Sketch, 20 December 1905, p. 308.
• Art Journal, February 1906, p. 1.

Monographs

• None.

Books on Whistler

• Cary, Elizabeth Luther, The Works of James McNeill Whistler: A Study, with a Tentative List of Artist’s Works, New York, 1907, pp. 83, 214 (cat. no. 384).
• Curry, David Park, James McNeill Whistler: Uneasy Pieces, New York, 2004, pp. 60-61, 162.
• Duret, Théodore, Histoire de J. McN. Whistler et de son oeuvre, Paris, 1904, repr. p. 63 in an early state.
• Eddy, Arthur Jerome, Recollections and Impressions of James A. McNeill Whistler, Philadelphia and London, 1903, p. 119.
• Laver, James, Whistler, 2nd edition, London, 1951, p. 160.
• Mansfield, Howard, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Etchings and Dry-Points of James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Chicago, 1909, pp. xxiv, xxx, xxxiii, pp. 105-06 (drypoint, cat. nos. 167-68).
• Menpes, Mortimer, Whistler as I Knew Him, London, 1904, pp. 75-76.
• Merrill, Linda, A Pot of Paint: Aesthetics on Trial in 'Whistler v. Ruskin', Washington and London, 1992, pp. 38-39, 127, 140, 143, 146, 152, 224-25.
• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 2 vols, London and Philadelphia, 1908, vol. 1, pp. 199-200, 211-12, 228, 234, 296-97, 308, repr. f.p. 288.
• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 5th (revised) edition, London and Philadelphia, 1911, p. 144.
• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Whistler Journal, Philadelphia, 1921, repr. f.p. 150.
• Petri, Grischka, Arrangement in Business: The Art Markets and the Career of James McNeill Whistler, Hildesheim, 2011, pp. 172-73, 235, 250, 267, 278, 334.
• Rutter, Frank Francis Vane Phipson, James McNeill Whistler: an Estimate and a Biography, London, 1911, pp. 61, 70, 80-81, 109.
• Sickert, Bernhard, Whistler, London and New York, 1908, pp. 20, 23, 104 (cat. no. 50).
• Sutherland, Daniel E., Whistler: A Life for Art's Sake, New Haven and London, 2014, p. 144.
• Sutton, Denys, Nocturne: The Art of James McNeill Whistler, London, 1963, p. 78.
• Sutton, Denys, James McNeill Whistler: Paintings, Etchings, Pastels and Watercolours, London, 1966, pp. 17, 192.
• Taylor, Hilary, James McNeill Whistler, London, 1978, pp. 95, 97, 127, 183.
• Way, Thomas Robert, and G. R. Dennis, The Art of James McNeill Whistler: An Appreciation, 1st edition, London, 1903, p. 10.

Books, General

• Irving, Sir Henry, The Drama : Addresses by Sir Henry Irving, New York, 1892, and London, 1893, repr. frontisp.
• Irving, Lawrence, Henry Irving: the Actor and his World, London, 1951, pp. 274, 337, 511, repr. f.p. 224.
• Ludovici, Anthony, An Artist's Life in London and Paris 1870-1925, New York, 1926, pp. 90-91.
• Meier-Grafe, Julius, Modern Art, trans. F. Simmonds & G. W. Chrystal, 2 vols., London & New York, 1908, pp. 222-23.
• Robins, Anna Gruetzner (ed.), Walter Sickert: the Complete Writings on Art, Oxford, 2000, p. 173.
• Roof, Katherine Metcalf, The Life and Art of William Merritt Chase, New York, 1917, pp. 142-44.
• Rouart, Denis & Wildenstein, Daniel, Edouard Manet. Catalogue Raisonné, 2 vols., Geneva &: Paris, 1975 (paintings by Manet, 106, 256-57).
• Stoker, Bram, Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving, 2 vols., London, 1906, vol. 1, pp. 151-52.
• Sweeney, J. L. (ed.), The Painter's Eye: Notes and Essays on the Pictorial Arts by Henry James, London, 1956, pp. 25-26, 258-59.

Catalogues 1906-Present

COLLECTION:

• Luhrs, Kathleen (ed.), American paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. 2, pp. 378-385.
• Spassky, Natalie, with Linda Bantel, Doreen Bolger Burke, Meg Perlman, and Amy L. Walsh, American Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. 2, A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born between 1816 and 1845, 1985, pp. 379-80, repr. p. 380.

EXHIBITION

• 76th Annual Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1907 (cat. no. 328) as 'Portrait: Sir Henry Irving'.
• Blakeslee Galleries, New York, 1909.
• Paintings in oil and pastel by James McNeill Whistler, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1910 (ex catalogue).
• Survey of American Painting, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1940 (cat. no. 140).
• Stars of Yesterday and Today, Wildenstein & Co., New York, 1944 (cat. no. 48).
• 100 Years of American Painting, Utah Centennial Exposition, Salt Lake City, 1947 (cat. no. 16).
• Portrait Panorama, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, 1947 (cat. no. 13).
• White, Nelson C., James McNeill Whistler Seventeenth Anniversary Exhibition, Lyman Allyn Museum, New London, CT, 1949 (cat. no. 21).
• Fourteen American Masters, Metropolitan Museum, New York, 1958-1959 (no catalogue).
• Young, A. McLaren, James McNeill Whistler, Arts Council Gallery, London, and Knoedler Galleries, New York, 1960 (cat. no. 38) as 'Arrangement in Black, No.3: Sir Henry Irving in the character of Philip II of Spain in Tennyson's "Queen Mary" '.
• Three Centuries of American Painting, Metropolitan Museum, New York, 1965 (no catalogue number).
• Getscher, Robert, The Stamp of Whistler, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, 1977, p. 38 (cat. no. 14) (not exhibited).
• Tinterow, Gary, and Geneviève Lacambre, Manet/Velázquez: The French Taste for Spanish Painting, New Haven and London, 2003 (cat. 223); Weinberg, H. Barbara, "American Artists' Taste for Spanish Painting", at pp. 269-71, repr. fig. 10.9.
• Andreeva, Galina, and Margaret F. MacDonald, Whistler and Russia, State Tretyakow Gallery, Moscow, 2006, pp. 97, 183 (cat. no. 15), repr. p. 97.
• Ono, Ayako (ed.), ホイッスラー展. James McNeill Whistler Retrospective, Tokyo, 2014 (cat. no. 21) repr.

Journals 1906-Present

• Anon., American Art News, vol. 4, no. 32, 16 June 1906, p. 1.
• Anon., ‘Two Portraits by Whistler’, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, vol. 5, June 1910, p. 152, repr., as 'Arrangement in Black'.
• Baury, Louis, 'The Story of the Tile Club', Bookman, vol. 35, 1912, p. 389.
• Hobbs, Susan, 'A Connoisseur's Vision: The American Collection of Charles Lang Freer', American Art Review, vol. 4, August 1977, pp. 76-101, at pp. 96, 101.
• Sickert, Walter Richard, 'The New Life of Whistler', The Fortnightly Review, vol. 84, December 1908, p. 1027.
• Terry, Ellen, 'Recollections of Henry Irving', McLure’s Magazine, vol. 30, December 1907, pp. 131-48, at pp. 135-36.
• 'The Laying of the Atlantic Cable: Paintings, Watercolors, and Commemorative Objects Given to the Metropolitan Museum by Cyrus W. Field', Metropolitan Museum Journal, vol. 41, 2006.

Newspapers 1906-Present

• 'B. P. S.', New York Evening Post, New York, 11 December 1909, p. 9.
• New York Herald Tribune, New York, 25 September 1930, p. 1, photograph of painting repr. p. 10.
• New York Times, New York, 26 September 1930, p. 23.

Websites

• Metropolitan Museum of Art website at http://www.metmuseum.org, and see also a sketch Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain not by Whistler, website at http://www.metmuseum.org.

Unpublished

• Revillon, Joseph Whistler, Draft Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings of J. McN. Whistler, [ca 1945-1955], Glasgow University Library (cat. no. 125).

Other

• Anon., Theatre, 1878, photograph of sitter repr. p. 44.
• Parkerson, Sarah Lawrence, Variations in Gold: The Stylistic Development of the Picture Frames used by James McNeill Whistlers, PhD thesis, University of Glasgow, 2007.