The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Portrait of a Boy probably dates from November or December 1879. ¹

Soon after Whistler's arrival in Venice, according to the American artist William Graham (1841-1910), a West Point Colonel from Buffalo, asked Whistler to paint his son. Graham offered Whistler the use of his studio, and prepared a canvas and a table palette. The Colonel brought his son at 8 a.m. next day and Graham had an 'old embroidered chair' for him to sit on. According to Graham, 'the boy kept 'the pose well enough, about as any boy might, seated with his head leaning against the embroidery behind him, his arms glued to those of the chair.' ²

When they eventually took a rest of a quarter of an hour the boy was given breakfast. Finally Whistler said 'There, I think that will do!' and told Graham that such a portrait should cost £300, but he doubted the Colonel's ability to pay it, so he asked Graham to discuss it with the Colonel. However, the Colonel said he had meant Whistler to make only a drawing in return for a favourable letter written by the Colonel to the Buffalo papers, and left 'without the sketch! or even seeing the portrait.' So in the afternoon, again according to Graham, Whistler's 'boatman' (a gondolier) took away the oil sketch. ³

Whistler sent his 'boatman' round to Graham, 'I send Francesco for the various traps you so kindly let me lumber up your studio with - paint box portfolio plates etc etc - in short all the objects relating to the redoubtable Colonel's blunder!' ⁴ When he sent this letter and his own reminiscences to Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) in 1908, Graham wrote:

"One would hardly suppose in reading the jaunty little note asking me to consign to his boatman the 'traps' he had left with me, and alluding to the 'redoubtable Colonel' that there was quite an incident behind it involving much that was dear to him, to say nothing of an order for a portrait and his reputation." ⁵

Images

Subject

Titles

One title has been suggested:

• 'Portrait of a Boy' (1980, YMSM). ⁶

Description

This was the portrait of a boy of about seven years of age. According to William Graham, he had 'a long upper lip', and he sat on an 'old embroidered chair ... with his head leaning against the embroidery behind him, his arms glued to those of the chair.' ⁷

Sitter

Russell Creamer Langdon (1872-1963) was the son of Loomis Lyman Langdon (1830-1910), who was a contemporary of Whistler at West Point and native of Buffalo, who occasionally wrote for the newspapers. L. L. Langdon was on leave of absence in Europe from 29 June 1879 to 6 January 1880 and wrote to Pennell that he met Whistler in Venice in 1879. ⁸

Colonel Russell C. Langdon, photograph, University of Washington

L. L. Langdon married Hattie Molleson Creamer, and their son Russell was born in Brooklyn on 20 June 1872. Like his father, he went into the army, graduating from West Point in 1892, and attaining the rank of Brigadier General. ⁹ R. C. Langdon was twice married, first to Adria Maud Semple, and later to Lois Alene Demorest.

Technique

Technique

The artist William Graham (1841-1910) prepared a 'big canvass nicely scrubbed over with a brownish grey tint' of about 134 x 79 cm, and a table palette, for Whistler, who brought his own brushes: 'First, he chose from his handful of brushes, one of the largest (they were all large) and holding it up said: "This is Sally" and began scrubbing away, beginning at the upper left hand corner with a long sweeping wavey motion.' ¹⁰ At Whistler's request, Graham suggested various alterations to the modelling of the head. Whistler used his full range of brushes, called, according to Graham, Charlotte, Jane, Luisa, Josephine, Sophia and Susan. ¹¹

Conservation History

Unknown.

Frame

Unknown.

History

Provenance

• 1879: commissioned by Loomis Lyman Langdon (1830-1910), but not paid for, and not delivered.

William Graham (1841-1910) is the main source of information on this portrait, and described Whistler painting the portrait of Langdon's son, without any prior agreement as to the cost. Whistler told Graham that such a portrait should cost £300, but he doubted the Colonel's ability to pay it, and asked Graham to discuss it with the Colonel. The Colonel said that he had only meant Whistler to make a drawing, in return for a letter written by the Colonel to the Buffalo papers. So he did not take the portrait, and Whistler removed it. ¹²

Graham thought the etcher William Scott (1848-1918), who was Whistler's neighbour in Venice, might know to whom Whistler gave the oil sketch. ¹³

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. 211), plate 416, as 'Portrait of a Boy'.

Authored by Whistler

• None.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• None.

Journals 1855-1905

• None.

Monographs

• None.

Books on Whistler

• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 2 vols, London and Philadelphia, 1908, vol. 2, pp. 309-10.

Books, General

• None.

Catalogues 1906-Present

• None.

Journals 1906-Present

• None.

Websites

• None.

Unpublished

• None.

Other

• None.