The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
YMSM 209
The Loves of the Lobsters
Date
The Loves of the Lobsters dates from 1879. 1
'The Loves of the Lobsters' was seen by Augustus J. C. Hare (1834-1903) in Whistler's White House in Tite Street, Chelsea, on 13 May 1879. 2 On 25 May 1879 Alan Summerly Cole (1846-1934) noted in his diary, 'He had painted some odd things over unfinished work. Two lobsters called "Ye loves of ye lobsters".' 3
The Pennells described it as the first of three satirical pictures showing Frederick Richards Leyland (1832-1892): Leyland was 'the most prominent lobster in shirt-frills.' 4 Whistler intended that The Loves of the Lobsters y209 should be in his studio with The Gold Scab y208 and Mount Ararat y210 when F. R. Leyland and the committee of Whistler's creditors made their official inspection of the White House in 1879.
Images
The Loves of the Lobsters, Whereabouts unknown
Subject
Titles
Variations on the title have been suggested:
- 'Ye loves of ye lobsters' (1879, A. S. Cole). 5
- 'frilled lobster' (1880, Whistler). 6
- 'The Loves of the Lobsters – an Arrangement in Rats' (1908, Pennell). 7
- 'The Loves of the Lobsters' (1980, YMSM). 8
The Pennells probably misunderstood Alan S. Cole's diary, where in fact 'Arrangement in Rats' referred to Mount Ararat y210. 'The Loves of the Lobsters' is the correct title.
Description
Augustus J. C. Hare (1834-1903) described it:
'The Loves of the Lobsters ... was supposed to represent Niagara, and looked as if the artist had upset the inkstand ... In the midst of the black chaos were two lobsters curvetting opposite each other, and looking as if they were done with red sealing-wax.' 9
Thomas Robert Way (1861-1913) stated that The Loves of the Lobsters y209 and Mount Ararat y210 were smaller than The Gold Scab y208. 10 The Gold Scab measures 186.7 x 139.7 cm (73 1/2 x 55").
Sitter
The Pennells described it as 'The Loves of the Lobsters', the first of three satirical pictures showing Frederick Richards Leyland (1832-1892), in which Leyland was 'the most prominent lobster in shirt-frills.' 11
F. R. Leyland took his mistress Rosa Laura Caldecutt (1843?-1890) to the White House a week after Whistler's bankruptcy sale at Sotheby & Co. on 12 February 1880. They were shown around:
'Watson did not know who he was but knew him by his resemblance to the Gold Scab & by Mrs C's & his interest in the Lobsters at which they looked & then at one another smiling quizzically - though not unhappily quite - perhaps to the Lighthearted this is fame & reputation such as he has.' 12
Technique
Technique
Unknown.
Conservation History
Unknown. Probably destroyed.
Frame
At the time of Whistler's bankruptcy sale at Messrs Sotheby and Co. on 12 February 1880, Matthew Robinson Elden (1839-1885) wrote to Whistler:
'The Gold Scab has been taken to Sothebys in its frame complete - but the other jokes were cut off their stretchers[.] The clerk who fetched them having orders to take all canvasses & to leave the frames &c to you - this is perhaps good as regards the greek girls, it may fetch less - to buy in - all frames &c have been sent to the Doctors save a few which Pellegrini borrowed & of which I have an account.' 13
History
Provenance
- 1880: acquired by Thomas Way (1837-1915), London;
- 1896: returned to Whistler.
When he was in Venice in 1879-1880, Whistler thought that The Loves of the Lobsters y209 and Mount Ararat y210 were the subject of an auctioneer's order to be sold with his bankrupt effects at Sotheby, 12 February 1880. He wrote to his sister-in-law to find out what was happening:
'I should so much like to understand the whole thing Nellie - do tell us the whole history - Way seems to have curious scruples about the non appearance of the "lobsters &c &c" at the sale, and wishes to put them up at public auction: - Well - I don't mind that ... The 'frilled lobster' by Caldecott' would be good fun - but ... I don't see how all this led to Waddell's coming down to Wimpole Street again in his capacity of "looking round" ... What on earth Way wanted to stir up anything for I cannot imagine! ... I wish I might know when the Lobsters are to be put up, so that I might get something into the World!' 14
According to Matthew Robinson Elden (1839-1885), The Loves of the Lobsters y209 and Mount Ararat y210 were cut from their stretchers and fetched from Whistler's studio by the auctioneer's clerk. 15 Whistler suspected that two missing caricatures might have been removed and destroyed by F. R. Leyland and Charles Augustus Howell (1840?-1890). 16
Certainly, The Loves of the Lobsters y209 was not auctioned, and according to Way's son, Thomas Robert Way (1861-1913), it was bought by his father from Messrs Waddell & Co., the trustees in Whistler's bankruptcy proceedings. 17 It was returned to Whistler by Way at the time of Way's final settlement with Whistler in 1896. There is no record of The Loves of the Lobsters y209 or Mount Ararat y210 after about 1896, and there is a strong possibility that they were either destroyed by Whistler, or by his executrix Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958) after his death.
The Pennells, in 1908 and 1921, wrongly stated that The Loves of the Lobsters y209 had been sold to Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919); the statement was omitted in 1911. 18
Exhibitions
None.
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. 209) as 'The Loves of the Lobsters'.
Authored by Whistler
- None.
Catalogues 1855-1905
- None.
Journals 1855-1905
- None.
Monographs
- None.
Books on Whistler
- Merrill, Linda, The Peacock Room. A Cultural Biography, New Haven and London, 1998, pp. 281-82.
- Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 2 vols, London and Philadelphia, 1908, vol. 1, pp. 256-59.
- Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 5th (revised) edition, London and Philadelphia, 1911, p. 186.
- Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Whistler Journal, Philadelphia, 1921, pp. 113, 134.
- Sutherland, Daniel E., Whistler: A Life for Art's Sake, New Haven and London, 2014, p. 164.
- Way, Thomas Robert, Memories of James McNeill Whistler, the Artist, London and New York, 1912, pp. 34-35, 138.
Books, General
- None.
Catalogues 1906-Present
- None.
Journals 1906-Present
- None.
Websites
- None.
Unpublished
- None.
Other
- None.
Notes:
1: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 209).
2: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, pp. 256-59.
3: Diary, 25 May 1879, mss copy, GUW #13132.
4: Pennell 1908, op. cit., vol. 1 pp. 256-59.
5: Diary, 25 May 1879, mss copy, GUW #13132.
6: Whistler to Mrs W. Whistler, [20 February/March 1880], GUW #06690.
7: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, pp. 256-59.
8: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 209).
9: Quoted by Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, pp. 256-59.
10: Way 1912 [more], pp. 34-35.
11: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, pp. 256-59.
12: Matthew Robinson Elden (1839-1885) to Whistler, [February 1880], GUW #01049.
13: [February 1880], GUW #01049.
14: Whistler to Mrs W. Whistler, [20 February/March 1880], GUW #06690. James Waddell was the Receiver of the Bankruptcy Court. F. R. Leyland had taken Rosa Laura Caldecutt (1843?-1890) to the White House, as already mentioned.
15: [February 1880], GUW #01049.
16: Whistler to H. E. Whistler, [March 1880], GUW #06689; and to M. R. Elden, GUW [15/30 April 1880], #12816.
17: Way 1912 [more], pp. 34-35, 138.
18: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, pp. 256-59; Pennell 1921C [more], pp. 113, 134; Pennell 1911 A [more], p. 186.